For the United States men’s national team, much of 2025 was spent worrying about whether they would be up to the task at hand of performing in a World Cup on home soil. They were struggling to score, defend, and lacked any real identity under new manager Mauricio Pochettino. It wasn’t until September that things began to change, when Tristan Blackmon, Tim Ream and Chris Richards all started together in a back three for the first time in a friendly against Japan. It would lead to a 2-0 victory which sparked a five match unbeaten run to close out 2025, a run where the USMNT faced five sides who will all be in action at the World Cup.
The shift is something that impressed Ream, who spoke about it on Call it What you Want, a CBS Sports Golazo network podcast.
“I think it was a stroke of genius to have three center backs. But in doing that, I think it unlocked the thought of guys being able to play in a fluid four for whatever reason, we went to three center backs, we seemed a lot more comfortable,” Ream said.
He’s right as the change in defending not only helped provide defensive cover, but it also allowed fullbacks to push further forward into the attack, giving support to Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun to put the ball in the net. It created a more repeatable system and added flexibility for the USMNT to go back to a back four if needed.
“Flexibility gives us incredible options to change on the fly in game… it gives guys a better understanding of what everybody needs, but it gives them a better understanding of positionally where they should be at all times,” Ream said.
Why was the shift needed?
Without Tyler Adams, the USMNT tried out different midfielders to see if they could operate as adequate shields for the defense, and they came to the same conclusion that Bournemouth are coming to in the Premier League. Adams is irreplaceable in a one to one shift, so changing the system was needed to make it happen.
It shows Pochettino ensuring that he’s creating the best system for the players at his disposal instead of trying to force something that isn’t working on his team. Calling in 70 different players during his time so far as manager, Pochettino has taken a deep look at the squad, and at the moment, this is the best available setup. Adams is currently recovering from an MCL injury with Bournemouth, so even during the March international break, Pochettino could need to continue seeing how to operate without his best defensive midfielder.
Raising the bar
On the bright side, the shift has given the USMNT an identity and made the system repeatable. Even with Pochettino changing the players in his XI from game to game, performance levels didn’t drop off, and players knew what was expected from them tactically. It’s a departure from when players sometimes didn’t understand what their roles were during the end of Gregg Berhalter’s tenure as manager. With time to spare ahead of the World Cup, Pochettino has been able to instill his tactics, which are about to be put to the test in upcoming March friendlies facing Belgium and Portugal. It’s an important step to getting past the round of 16 and the USMNT are on the right track under the Argentine.
