What will the United States’ identity be at the 2026 FIFA World Cup under Mauricio Pochettino? Even as co-hosts and backed to advance from Group D, playing with three at the back seems like the best setup for a deeper tournament run than they’re used to.
The United States men’s national team have started with four at the back for their last 20 World Cup games.
During that time, they have reached the knockout stage in four of the five tournaments they’ve qualified for, with one quarter-final appearance. They’ve come to be seen as a side that shouldn’t be disappointed with reaching the last 16 before bowing out to a team they’re either expected to lose to or is right at their level. The Netherlands in 2022, Belgium in 2014, Ghana in 2010, and Germany in 2002.
Always four at the back, at least on paper. It could be argued the 2014 formation in the last 16 against Belgium featured three centre-backs. Regardless, it is not a formation the Americans have often favoured, in part because – well – sorry if seeing an image of the following starting XI ruins your day if you’re a USMNT fan:
Those of us who are old enough to remember 1998 – and tried to forget it – haven’t exactly been pushing for three at the back since Steve Sampson’s infamous 3-6-1. This is the lineup that started the 1998 World Cup in France, and another back-three iteration ended it with a third straight loss 10 days later. Those of us trying our best to emulate it on our various game consoles and oversized Gateway PCs in FIFA: Road to World Cup 98 had a hell of a time getting the game to understand what we were doing.
A 3-6-1, in other terms, may be a 3-4-2-1 as the graphic above states, which is something current coach Mauricio Pochettino has been experimenting with for the United States’ 2026 squad.
We don’t need to spend a lot of time on why it didn’t work for Sampson or comparing that starting XI to what Pochettino may roll out on 12 June against Paraguay. The game is totally different, and the quality in the U.S. talent pool now compared to 28 years ago isn’t even worth discussing.
But suffice it to say that a back three in 1998 or 2026 is well-suited to working with respectable wing-backs. Sampson’s best, Frankie Hejduk, was on the bench for the start of that tournament. Conversely, Pochettino will play Tim Ream has been named the U.S. captain and is going to play on the left side of that backline with Robinson on the left wing. Christian Pulisic, Malik Tillman or Ricardo Pepi and
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