Lessons learned from USMNT's 1-1 draw with Ecuador

It was put up or shut up for Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT after a bizarre first year at the helm. Nonetheless, he has continued to lay the groundwork for his vision, even as the US’s most important players took time to adjust to their new seasons and new surroundings. 

Along the way, Pochettino preached patience.

Admittedly, the vision was foggy to say the least, but Friday’s 1-1 draw in Austin was a major step in the right direction.

The result doesn’t matter as much as the patience on display following a hot start from the Ecuadorians. Outgunned early, the US struggled to play through Ecuador’s heavy pressing out the gate, but they managed, eventually passing their way through, only to be undone by Enner Valencia’s clinical counterattack. 

The US fell behind by halftime, but it was a heavy 45 minutes that the US answered with one of the best performances of the Pochettino era. They generated the two best chances of the match, pushed for a go-ahead goal late, and displayed a developing chemistry that was clearly missing.

Afterwards, Pochettino relished in what he saw, drilling down on the change in atmosphere and expectations over the past few windows. 

Some lessons were learned.

Lesson 1: A “very professional” performance.

Ecuador buzzed out of the gate and hemmed the US into their half as they retreated to attempt to find openings to play through the early pressure. Five minutes elapsed, and they had yet to keep the ball in the attacking half, but they stayed patient and eventually used Folarin Balogun as their pressure release valve.

Balogun’s ability to bring down balls and create on his own is unrivaled in the player pool, and his ability to create against momentum chiseled away pockets of space as Ecuador backed off their initial press. 

However, Ecuador was able to find its own space when Joel Ordoñez stepped into Weston McKennie’s attempt to send Balogun in on goal. As the US sent bodies forward, John Yeboah sat in the pocket between the midfielders, threading his pass into Valencia’s feet, allowing him to quickly change directions with his first touch to the opposite shoulder of Chris Richards. 

Valencia’s individual effort was a world-class movement from an aging world-class player; those goals are going to happen in international play, but how the US responded is the focus. Almost immediately, Malik Tillman’s corner in the 25’ landed at the feet of a wide-open Chris Richards, who just couldn’t beat Hernán Galindez. 

It was a half where the US outshot Ecuador 2-1 and completed nearly three times the number of passes in the attacking half, and entered halftime feeling hard done. Entering the 2nd half, there were tactical adjustments, some interesting subs, and an equalizer that felt a long time coming. The players were hungry despite the lack of real competitive consequences; it was a professional performance. 

“I think the performance was a very, very serious performance, very professional.” Pochettino reflected. “I think what works the most is that we are out here talking about actions, concepts, formations, things like that for me, after one year, I am so, so, so happy that we don’t have to talk about other things like commitment, attitude, or things that normally, in the past, we were talking about, I think that this is a massive step up.”

Lesson 2: Asserting calm in a flexible 3-4-3 

In last week’s newsletter, I opined about the lack of Joe Scally in a roster that was sure to feature Pochettino’s return to the 3-4-3. I was half right; Pochettino sent out his back three of Miles Robinson, Chris Richards, and Tim Ream, but it wasn’t really a 3-4-3 in the traditional sense. The formation was flexible, and while Tim Weah and Max Arfsten would have been thought of as wingbacks in a traditional sense, they were more like wingers in a front three with Malik Tillman and Weston McKennie more likely to play underneath Balogun than stretch the pitch out wide. 

Then, as Ecuador dropped into their low block, Aidan Morris and Tanner Tessman split wide to vacate the central spaces for the attacking players to track into, and provide width to sit on the ball as they methodically moved toward the attacking third. 

The wrinkles were interesting to watch develop, but their best opportunities were still created in quick transition moments and turnovers created in the attacking third. Still, the ball movement was a welcome surprise as the Yanks controlled 66% of the ball and completed just as many passes in the attacking half as the defending half. 

The aggressive look allowed the US to commit numbers to the press, converting multiple turnovers deep in Ecuador territory into Grade A scoring chances with at least one free runner at the top of the box. It’s how the US created their goal and the chances that came on either side of the breakthrough, before morphing into more of a traditional 4-2-3-1 with Alex Freeman, who previously subbed on in Robinson’s RCB position, pushing high as the right wingback in attack. 

Freeman’s short stint was impressive. He was defensively responsible, won three tackles – the third most in the squad – and leaned on his physicality and positioning to win two interceptions and all three of his duels on the ground over 27 minutes. 

Individually, there was a lot to like, not just in how they played, but how they played while being expected to float between positions and responsibilities. 

Lesson 3: Malik Tillman and Folarin Balogun are those guys.

Tillman and Balogun were the obvious stars in Austin. 

Tillman created six scoring chances, more than the rest of the team combined, and double Ecuador’s tally. He was composed on the ball and displayed a confidence that has only grown since the Gold Cup this summer. Tillman fetched the second-highest transfer fee ever for an American in his switch to Bayer Leverkusen this summer, and has had to work through some early-season woes. His preseason was disrupted by a knock picked up during the Gold Cup, while managerial instability saw his role change quickly within the dynamic at Leverkusen. Tillman has come out the other side a more experienced player, and his poise against a frantic Ecuador defense was a welcome sign for a group that has needed some swagger. 

Tillman’s smoothest moment came minutes before this silky feed to Freeman, when the US’s press forced a turnover in the attacking third. The ball made its way around the horn. Tillman’s pressure forced Willian Pacho into a bad pass that eventually made its way back to Tillman as he crashed the goal. 

The hesitation to buy time for Balogun was crucial, and then the calm finishing from the Monaco man captured something that the US have needed from their strikers: goals. 

Balogun strengthened his grip on the starting striker role throughout this one. The goal helps, but it’s also what he offers in possession: the ability to create for himself and the attackers around him. 

Now, how does this all work when Pulisic is expected to go 90 minutes? We’ll find out more on Tuesday, but there has to be a way to both Tillman and Pulisic besides Balogun. 

Lesson 4: Matt Freese did enough to cement the starting role.

Matt Freese kept busy Friday night.

Enner Valencia’s goal was always going to be tough to stop, but he rebounded well. The NYCFC keeper made 3 stops, 10 recoveries, and 2 high claims that required a staunch command of his area. 

If the job is Freese’s to lose, his positioning made Ecuador’s shot selection in transition seem hurried outside of Valencia’s wonderstrike. 

It wasn’t a perfect performance, but he didn’t make any mistakes and always felt in control, which is important in international soccer. 

Does Pochettino give Turner the net against Australia? That would make things interesting.

Lesson 5: Chris Richards is a top 10 CB in the world, change my mind.

If you’ve read the past month of USxNT pieces, then you would know that Chris Richards’s stock has been steadily climbing through the start of the year at Crystal Palace. His performance in Austin was exactly what the US has needed from its #1 CB. 

Yes, the Valencia goal was forced by the 1v1 matchup in transition, but the pass forced Richards to his weak side. While he didn’t take Valencia out of the play, he took the striker wide and forced a tougher angle.

Richards didn’t sulk with the lack of weak-side help in that moment; instead, he stood tall and stayed organized. 

The stat line tells the story: he won 5/5 aerial duels, 6/7 duels overall, and a match leading 12 defensive contributions, including a few crucial interruptions that bought the US time to regroup. 

"We've dealt with a lot of adversity." Richards said afterwards. "So it was just another one of those days where we knew we would have the opportunity to get [the goal] back. You can see even with the goal, we grabbed the ball and we wanted to play some more."

The CB pair in the 4-2-3-1 is locked in on Richards next to Tim Ream, but Miles Robinson didn’t do enough to lock down the RCB role in the back three. Expect to see either Cameron Carter-Vickers, Mark Mackenzie, or even Alex Freeman to have a chance if Pochettino runs the 3-4-3 back against Australia. 

Thanks for reading, hopefully that helped contextualize some of what transpired Friday night. It’s a good step in the right direction, but Tuesday’s date in Colorado should iron out some of those decisions around the perimeter of the roster. 

What lineup do you want to see on Tuesday? Sound off in the comments.