The United States Men’s National Team returned to the World Cup stage after an eight-year absence on November 21, tying Wales 1-1 to pick up a point in their first group stage match of the tournament. This was also former Columbus Crew head coach Gregg Berhalter’s first World Cup match, kicking off a new era on the world’s biggest stage for the Americans. It was a tale of two halves in this one, with the United States dominating the first 45 minutes, but then allowing Wales back into the game to equalize off of a Gareth Bale penalty. Berhalter’s tactics were nothing out of the ordinary to Crew fans, but in the end, it could only produce a draw. Let’s dive in.
The First Half: Promise and domination
After what the American people saw in the friendlies leading up to the World Cup, the US performed incredibly well in the first half. Many fans and pundits had no idea how this young team would step up in Qatar, but they responded well and controlled the game.
Berhalter started off in his patented 4-3-3 but it took on different shapes throughout the game. In the early moments of the match you could tell that one of the goals for the squad was to get outside backs Sergino Dest and Antonee Robinson as high up the pitch as possible to aid in attack. Their creative ability and pace was supposed to exploit Wales’ back three and allow the wingers up top to go infield and combine with the midfielders.
We know that Berhalter also likes to keep possession, a style that he had employed in Columbus before accepting the USMNT coaching job. So, when the outside backs would push up high. Yunus Musah and Weston McKennie would sometimes drop in that space that they abdicated, to be an outlet for the center backs and to be a pivot to get the ball up the field to the outside. The midfielder on the opposite side of the field where the other was dropping in would then push up higher and make runs in behind the defense, trying for a diagonal long through ball over the top of the defense.
On the defensive side, the output by this US squad was top notch. Everytime they lost the ball they fought back quickly to win it back high up the pitch on the press. When they could not win it back quick, they got in their shape and let Wales have the ball while applying a delayed press. This meant all the players downfield would mark while the front three would press up on the defense and force them into making a bad pass or touch to give possession back to the US. This worked well because the way that Wales was set up, they wanted to attack off of the counter, and weren’t set up to build out of the back.
All these factors came together to give the United States the lead after dominating throughout the half, but the inexperience and fatigue came into play in the second period.
The Second Half: Tired legs and inexperience result in a draw
The US came out in the second half much like they ended the first, with high intensity on the offensive end and earned a corner right off the bat. From there though, there was less control and domination by the young Americans.
First off, the team just looked gassed and less passionate. They weren’t staying sharp on marks, pressing hard, or even making good tackles. They simply looked second best which allowed Wales to get some chances going forward and control more of the game. Some of this may be due to the players going into the first half and giving it their all, they sprinted at a marathon and ran out of gas.
Secondly, Wales switched up their approach going forward. Instead of living off of the counterattack, they decided to quickly build up and try to catch the United States on their heels. More Welsh players were getting forward than in the first half, and this resulted in them putting some pressure on the US’ backline. Wales also recovered from conceding in the first half and picked up their intensity. There were more tackles flying in and better overall play than in the first half due to coaching adjustments and a short period to rest and regroup.
Thirdly, the United States didn’t adjust their game plan and got baited into a track meet after they conceded. After Gareth Bale’s penalty went in the game blew wide open. It was attack after attack from end to end, and the US got drawn out of their playstyle. Berhalter’s system is to draw out the opposition, possess the ball, and wait for your opponent to make a mistake. When they make a mistake, then you attack, but you have to be patient. The United States lost their identity in the second half, got baited into playing too quick and it resulted in them conceding a preventable goal, dropping two points.
Lastly, Gregg Berhalter made some interesting decisions, most notably leaving Gio Reyna on the bench and opting for Jordan Morris. While Morris and Reyna have different strengths and skillsets, the game needed a playmaker who can create magic and find a goal, and that’s what Gio Reyna does. There is a certain level of qualifications that go into being named the USMNT head coach and Gregg Berhalter fits all of those qualifications, but he got this one wrong. Morris was invisible on the pitch, not really contributing anything in the few minutes that he came on and played. In the end, we will never know what Reyna could have done, or if he would’ve played better than Morris, but he at least should have gotten the chance.
All in all, the US gain a point on their first game back in the World Cup, and have an important game coming up against Euro 2020 finalists England on November 25
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