Christian Pulisic has established lofty expectations for the U.S. men’s national team against Uruguay in the Copa America’s Group C finale.
“We have to go and play the best game of our lives, and that’s it,” the AC Milan winger said after his team’s rattling 2-1 loss against Panama on Thursday. “We want to go and we want to win — we want to continue this competition.
But Los Canaleros weren’t an unknown opponent from a different confederation, and U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter readily admitted they “knew” Panama would lean into gamesmanship. Despite this, one of the USMNT’s historically cool-headed players, Tim Weah, still drew an unnecessary red card 18 minutes into the contest, giving Panama control and the eventual win.
The U.S. currently sits ahead of its CONCACAF rivals Bolivia in Group C thanks to a goal-differential tiebreaker. A win against Uruguay wouldn’t necessarily be enough to ensure a spot in the quarterfinals — but anything less than a three-point performance will require already eliminated Bolivia, who lost 5-0 to Uruguay on Thursday, to pull off a shock of their own.
This iteration of the U.S. men still hasn’t seen many big games against big opponents. Sunday is a chance to play one.
Here are three options that will likely be up for deliberation as Berhalter coaches for his team’s tournament hopes — and possibly his job.
1. An out-of-position alternative on the right
Even with the benefit of a 26-man squad, rather than the previous limit of 23, this U.S. group lacks many members who play on the right wing. Weah has become one of the most dependable names on Berhalter’s teamsheet.
In an ideal circumstance, a preview of the Uruguay game would laud the interplay between Weah, Weston McKennie and Sergino Dest along the right flank.
Alas, only McKennie can be selected from that trio. Dest sustained an ACL injury before Copa America that kept him out of the tournament and Weah’s red card against Panama will keep him out of the Group C finale and an additional game. It will be difficult for alternatives to offer a similar deftness at retaining possession through their well-worked passing triangles. Complicating things further, Joe Scally has struggled to perform up to expectations as a national team starter.
In possession, Scally has often been wasteful — only two defenders in this tournament (min. 100 minutes played) have a lower passing accuracy than Scally’s rate of 70.6 per cent, and few of his attempts would register as being ambitious. His positioning when defending has also been suspect: at times so advanced he’s exploited by opportunistic behind-the-line sprinters, at others too conservative to close down an opponent on the ball.
Nevertheless, it would be out of character for Berhalter to make changes at both wide positions along the same flank.
Brenden Aaronson is coming off one of the toughest seasons of his young career. Union Berlin brought him on loan from relegated Leeds in hopes of making them competitive in the Bundesliga and Champions League. Ineffectiveness in the final third dropped him to the bench and he logged just 134 minutes as the club finished last in their continental group. Eventually, Aaronson returned to the lineup in time for Berlin to stave off relegation, but there was little end product to show for his German sojourn.
Brenden Aaronson could add energy to the U.S.’s right flank (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
Berhalter has trusted Aaronson in the past for his tireless work rate and proactive pressing. Uruguay has been balanced in build-up through its first two games, logging 35% of its attacking-half touches along its left third and 39% along the right. Having Aaronson in the lineup could, at a minimum, force Uruguay to lean more into their right flank — where the U.S. is in stronger standing with Antonee Robinson available.
Bringing Aaronson in would likely ask more of Gio Reyna in the final third, pushing him closer to the forward line and having his fellow midfielders handle dropping deeper to collect the ball from the back line.
Of course, there is one member of the squad who logged considerable time on the right for his club…
2. Shift Pulisic to the right
If incorporating Aaronson represents a more defensive approach, this is the attacking-minded alternative.
Since leaving Borussia Dortmund, Pulisic has most often played on the left. He fits the archetype of the inverted winger — a confident dribbler who can cut from the flank to the half-space to create his own shot. His issues in acclimatizing with Chelsea are well-documented but it’s also a role he’s owned since Berhalter began coaching the USMNT.
Last year, AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli played Pulisic on the right wing. He was an instant hit, scoring 12 goals and notching 8 assists as Milan finished second in Serie A. Although he’s still been a force for the United States on the left, it may be time to swap him over to bring in the pool’s other in-form winger.
Initially, Coventry City signed Haji Wright to be its new center-forward. After a couple of months of ineffective line-leading, they shifted him to the left wing. He quickly rewarded their patience and ingenuity, helping his club finish ninth in the Championship as its primary volume shooter while catalyzing a surprise run to an FA Cup semifinal.
Although Wright scored plenty in “proper No 9” territory, his shot map leans to the left due to his positioning. His inclusion on Monday would also ease the defensive focus on Folarin Balogun, who has been one of the few bright spots in this tournament for the USMNT. The forward line would have three true goalscoring threats, with Reyna and McKennie (or Yunus Musah, should he get to see the field) shouldering the responsibility to pull the strings.
This would ask a lot of Tyler Adams as a single pivot midfield if one or both other midfielders had to play more advanced but then again, the situation already demands ‘the best game of their lives’.
3. A complete system change
Berhalter hasn’t often been one to pull a surprise with his formation — seldom since the disastrous attempt at playing with five at the back in World Cup qualifying at Honduras.
On Thursday, the decision to play for the draw backfired as the United States couldn’t cope with defending down a man for 72 minutes. While having an additional player on the field would help mitigate fatigue, it still isn’t a stylistic fit for a team that aspires ‘to change the way the world views American soccer’.
One might think that more established personnel could be entrusted to pull off a system-change in a must-win match. However, a group of players that hasn’t learned lessons from CONCACAF’s school of hard knocks doesn’t seem poised to grind to a cagey victory.
Berhalter’s halftime adjustment against Panama brought Cameron Carter-Vickers into the heart of the backline between Tim Ream and Chris Richards. The moment may have gotten the best of Carter-Vickers, who narrowly dodged conceding a penalty after VAR showed a flopping foe and he was late to close Jose Fajardo on the eventual match-winner.
Still, he appears to be third on the depth chart based on Berhalter’s substitution patterns this month and would be most likely to enter the lineup over Miles Robinson and Mark McKenzie.
The likely calculus against Uruguay would be to play with three center-backs, ask Scally and Antonee Robinson to provide width, operate with a midfield trio and have Pulisic play off of Balogun to break on the counter. In other words: another instance of packing it in and hoping for the best against a tournament favorite. Gulp.
It feels too conservative for a game of these stakes both in the context of this tournament and Berhalter’s future. If the USMNT is going to be eliminated in the group stage on home soil, why not go for it and play proactively? It may be the best way for this team of aspirational entertainers to turn glimpses of style into substance.
(Photo: Getty Images)
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