From getting the best out of Diego Luna to compelling his team to dig deep, Pochettino has pieced together a resilient USMNT
That probably should have been easier. The USMNT's Gold Cup run thus far hasn't always made for fun watching. They have toiled at times and made easy games look far more difficult than they should be. A win over Costa Rica on penalties was encouraging, but you really shouldn't need penalties to beat Costa Rica.
And even though Guatemala are the Cinderella story of the tournament, they remain the 106th ranked team in the world – a side that deserve respect but also should be swept away by more than a 2-1. This is a bit of a rag-tag USMNT, largely filled with B and C teamers, and highlighted by a few who might just be in the picture long term.
Mauricio Pochettino, in fact, can take a lot from this group. Malik Tillman was excellent in the group stage. Diego Luna has been wonderful all tournament. Chris Richards has come into his own, and a series of other talents have also made an impact.
Pochettino, to his immense credit, has done something with the collective here, leaning on individuals, using the right players the right way, and instilled the art of defending into his team. Suddenly, this is a win-ugly kind of group that has their eighth Gold Cup trophy right in front of them, though Mexico will have something to say about that.
GOAL US looks at the tactics and numbers that have fueled this USMNT Gold Cup run.
Getty Images SportUnleashing Diego Luna
Diego Luna's a fun player. He's the kind of street baller that the U.S. has never quite utilized in full.
He's a stocky and whirring presence, all tattoos and cool hair. He's an imperfect idea of what a modern footballer should look like. Attacking players of his speed and technical ability are typically tall and lanky. Luna, meanwhile, operates closer to the ground, squirming into spaces and finding all of the gaps in opposing defenses that others don't see.
He was never going to get a fair look when Christian Pulisic was in the setup. But now, under Pochettino, he has. And the results have been good. Perhaps the most important thing to take here is Luna has been encouraged to improvise when he has the ball.
Nominally, he is a left winger or No. 10. In reality, he drifts everywhere, patrolling the left side of the attacking third, dropping into pockets of space, and playing on the half turn.
It's the kind of thing that coaches covet, and has been vital in the knockouts so far. Neither Costa Rica nor Guatemala "parked the bus" against the U.S. But they were happy to dig in, squeeze spaces, and invite pressure. Luna unlocked it.
Against Costa Rica, he timed his late run perfectly, anticipating the cut back from Max Arfsten before it came. As the left back advanced down the wing, Luna paused momentarily, took a step away from the goal and into space – and awaited the cross. It was a good one, too, which the Real Salt Lake man corralled and finished with the help of a kind deflection.
Against Guatemala, he was even better. He scored two in the first 15 minutes, but exhibited those similar traits. The first saw him anticipate a rebound before it came, delicately control an evil deflection, and finish with his weaker foot. The second was more aesthetically pleasing, a drop of a shoulder, two entirely unnecessary stepovers, cut inside, and finish in the near post to beat a goalkeeper, who was wrong footed by the swiftness of his strike.
Luna summarized it all expertly after full time:
"It's 90 minutes of hundreds of moments," he said, "and you've got to execute on each one."
AdvertisementGetty ImagesTyler Adams, alone
Tyler Adams is an interesting player for a country that doesn't have nearly enough of what he brings.
He's been around, in some form, for almost a decade, and still feels like a bit of an enigma – at least in his position. Is Adams a lone No. 6? Is he best used as part of a double pivot? Should he press high, as he does for Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth? Or should he sit a little deeper, as he did under Gregg Berhalter at the 2022 World Cup?
Pochettino's answer thus far has been something amounting to a resounding "I don't know." The Argentine has rather fiddled with his midfield configurations thus far in his tenure, trying to piece together the right combination of players.
At the Gold Cup, though, Adams has mostly functioned alone, sitting deep in possession alongside a more advanced midfielder – usually the reinvented Luca de la Torre. It's been a really interesting tactical approach, and it's worked an absolute charm. Adams is an all-action player, a truly excellent tackler with a fine sense of positioning. And when one player goes forward, the New York Red Bulls academy product is always happy to slide and fill a gap.
No U.S. player won more tackles against Guatemala than Adams. No midfielder had more ball recoveries. No other midfielder – for either side – completed more long passes.
Piece it all together, and the picture is one of a midfielder who can cover spaces, win the ball, and then spread it quickly. With the likes of Luna and Malik Tillman always ready to receive, his influence is paramount.
Getty ImagesLearning to suffer
All managers like to talk about how their side knows how to "suffer" in moments. It's a bit dramatic, really, but basically means that you're willing to defend for a bit. Nerds will tell you that it actually derives from the Spanish verb "sufrir" which has a softer connotation than it does in English – and is far closer to "sustain" or "endure" rather than "undergo intense physical pain."
Either way, it's good coach speak, a way of saying that your team is resilient and able to focus under pressure. To suffer successfully is to defend and not concede a goal. But Pochettino loves to reference it. And although it's cliche, the U.S. have accepted, at times, that they're just going to have to defend.
The final 10 minutes against Guatemala, following the point in which the USMNT conceded, were a bit nervy. The U.S. sat back, and after a couple of defensive subs, didn't have much going forward. But what should have been a frightening period in which the U.S. conceded a goal that led to a heartbreaking penalty loss was instead a passage of defensive solidity.
Guatemala didn't register a single shot after they found the net in the 81st minute. A couple of speculative long balls aside, they didn't really come close to the goal. Part of that, of course, can be tagged down to their lack of attacking quality. This is a side ranked 106th in the world, after all.
But it was also a testament to a remarkable defensive commitment. By that point, Tim Ream was playing left back, Walker Zimmerman had come on to play a central role, and Chris Richards was winning headers for fun. That isn't an exciting tactical setup, but Richards and Zimmerman are both 6-3. Ream is a terrific flex option at left back who can just dig in.
Do the U.S. want to be defending so much all the time, against ? Of course not. But it certainly helps when you have to.
Getty ImagesPatrick Agyemang, imperfect but effective
What is a Patrick Agyemang? Well, he's now a striker who will reportedly for play for Derby County in the English Championship. He is a $10 million striker, who will be expected to grab goals in one of the most physical leagues in the world. But he's also short of his prime, a late bloomer and tidy finisher – especially in the air.
He also has his fair share of critics. He's not a refined striker in the modern sense. He isn't the kind of player Pochettino has used before, either, at pretty much any level. Agyemang is imperfect, and has an uncertain future with the USMNT.
But he is mightily disruptive and a vital focal point for this team. He's 6-4, nearly 200 pounds, and mobile for his size. He bullies defenders for fun, and, when he stays within the width of the 18-yard box, can be a nightmare to mark.
Agyemang's real benefit for the U.S. this summer – and it has come sparingly – is his ability to hold up the ball and allow the rest of the attack to move up and support. It was, in fact, vital to the U.S.'s second goal against Guatemala.
Luna will get the plaudits for his wonderful piece of skill and finish, but it was Agyemang, controlling a long ball and laying off to the advancing Malik Tillman, that started the move. In that game, he also won more duels than he lost – and even if he was lacking a bit of clinical edge in front of goal, the ability to use the striker as a longer option could yet be vital.