When it comes to defensive strategy, back three or back four? A back three provides a lot more flexibility in attack \u2014 and it’s a strategy the U.S. men’s national team is likely to start with at the 2026 World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This formation makes a lot of sense when you have a pair of fullbacks who can cover a lot of ground, like Sergi\u00f1o Dest and Antonee “Jedi” Robinson, maybe even a Tim Weah in certain situations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When in possession, it allows the center backs who are playing on the left and right sides to be a bit more aggressive. In the friendlies, we saw Alex Freeman play on the right side of the back three and focus on an opposing winger.<\/p>\n
There will be times when the back three truly becomes a back five. That\u2019s when you\u2019re sitting in a low block and absorbing pressure when the opposition really has its foot on the gas pedal.<\/p>\n
For the most part, though, the U.S. will be in what I\u2019d refer to as a back three. It comes down to the attitude of the wing backs, and I\u2019d expect Dest and Robinson to be important parts of the U.S. attack.<\/p>\n
Here’s what to expect this summer, and why the U.S. has changed formations from the last World Cup.<\/p>\n
Another part of the USA\u2019s decision to play with three center backs instead of two in a traditional back four is 38-year-old Tim Ream. The team captain started both friendlies against Senegal and Germany on the left side of the back three. Having an extra center back offers him more support against some key attacking players that the U.S. will run into throughout the tournament.<\/p>\n
A big reason for the United States’ formation at this World Cup: to support 38-year-old Tim Ream. (Jamie Squire\/Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n We saw in the friendly against Germany that Tim was in some one-on-one situations against winger Leroy San\u00e9, one of the fastest players who will be playing in the World Cup this summer. I think Tim and head coach Mauricio Pochettino realize that you want the veteran on the field as the captain and with his experience. If that\u2019s the case, the best way to feature him is as the left-sided center back, so he has some support in those areas.<\/p>\n The potential downsides, though, were clear on Senegal\u2019s first goal against the U.S. in its friendly match back on May 31. Antonee lost the ball further up the field, so the left side of our defense was exposed with just Tim to cover a lot of space. The counter ended with Sadio Man\u00e9\u2019s first of two goals in that game.<\/p>\n A back four is less chaotic, more structurally sound. You can cover the width of the field \u2014 whether it\u2019s in midfield or in attack \u2014 much more easily because you have more numbers higher up the field. A back five requires more man-to-man assignments where you have to react quickly, while a back four is more organized. You shift and move around the field in a back four, but you\u2019re playing within a structure.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a right answer, and it genuinely depends on the personnel in a team. It also can depend on the matchup and what we\u2019re trying to do in any given match. I\u2019ve played in teams that function better in a back three or a back four.<\/p>\n Specifically for the U.S. men’s national team, having a player like Tyler Adams in midfield makes a huge difference. He\u2019s capable of covering a lot of ground and cleaning up a lot of problems. Knowing you have a player like that, you\u2019re more comfortable potentially stopping counterattacks and containing the opposition when it has the ball.<\/p>\n Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson and Weston McKennie talk before the USA-Germany friendly before the World Cup. (Photo by Michael Miller\/ISI Photos\/ISI Photos via Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY When it comes to defensive strategy, back three or back four? A back three provides a lot more flexibility in attack \u2014 and it’s a strategy the U.S. men’s national team is likely to start with at the 2026 World Cup.\u00a0 This formation makes a lot of sense when you have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4558,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}