Change of formation boosts USMNT fortunes in win over Japan

It's amazing what a difference a few days can make. Well, a few days and a simple formation change. Just a few days after an utter failure during a 2-0 loss to South Korea, the USMNT bounced back in a big way with a 2-0 win over Japan. The biggest difference-maker against Japan was Mauricio Pochettino switching to a 3-4-3 formation, a tweak that made a world of difference.

The USMNT looked like a completely different team in Tuesday's win over Japan compared to Saturday's loss to South Korea. While the Americans had most of the possession against South Korea, they didn't create nearly as many quality scoring chances as they did against Japan.

Equally important, playing with three center-backs helped the USMNT to keep a clean sheet against Japan, snapping a streak of five straight games in which they conceded at least one goal.

Full-Backs are free

Predictably, the presence of three center-backs, as well as a deep-lying midfielder like Tyler Adams, gave the USMNT full-backs far more freedom. Their starting position in the attack was much higher than in recent games. It's no coincidence that Max Arfsten and Alex Freeman were among the best players during Tuesday's game.

Arfsten, in particular, provided a beautiful assist to Alejandro Zendejas. In the new formation, he had the freedom to get forward without being as burdened by defensive responsibilities, an area where he struggled during the Gold Cup this summer.

The good news for the USMNT is that Arfsten and Freeman aren't even the top-choice wing-backs. In the full squad, it would be Sergiño Dest and Antonee Robinson playing in those wide positions.

Both are potential difference-makers in the USMNT attack, so getting them higher up the field more consistently could do wonders for creating more scoring chances, especially given Robinson's success dishing out assists for Fulham over the past year.

Freedom for Pulisic

The new formation was also good news for Christian Pulisic. He appeared to have more freedom to move around the field and find the game than he did against South Korea in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

With the wing-backs higher up the field, Pulisic didn't feel any pressure to stay wide and space out the defense. That allowed him to get on the ball more frequently and create scoring chances. The improvement from Pulisic eventually paid off with a perfectly-weighted pass on Folarin Balogun's goal.

Even when Pulisic left the game, the attacking players on the field continued to create excellent scoring chances. The U.S. could have easily added a third or fourth goal against Japan late in the game after making several subs.

Players like Dest in a wide position and Jack McGlynn playing more centrally benefited from the new formation, which allowed the USMNT to attack from the wings and through the middle.

What does it mean?

As a friendly, it's important to take this result with a grain of salt. For starters, Japan started a young and inexperienced lineup that was missing several of its most established stars.

Also, any prep work they did before playing the USMNT likely didn't include a scouting report on a 3-4-3 formation. That allowed the U.S. to catch Japan off guard, while also playing against a weaker squad than they perhaps expected.

Likewise, it's unclear if a 3-4-3 formation will become the primary tactic used by the USMNT moving forward. There are also questions about how this formation could work when the full squad is available. Just because it worked against a watered-down Japan roster doesn't mean it's going to be the best option during the 2026 World Cup.

Nevertheless, the 3-4-3 was a much-needed change that provided a much-needed win for the USMNT. Pochettino has faced a firestorm of criticism throughout his U.S. tenure, especially in recent days.

But with a tweak to the formation, the USMNT got a win that should spark some optimism within the fanbase and could finally put the team on the right track as the build-up to the 2026 World Cup continues.