"Pochettino reacted to the South Korea loss by tinkering both in strategy and lineup (five changes from Saturday) so his side could better the agile, high-possession mentality of Hajime Moriyasu's Japan, a team I think will do very well next summer. And so he went back to the playbook from his Southampton and Tottenham days, when he often employed a 3-4-3 (or 3-4-2-1) formation in order to play the role of contrarian against teams who enjoy build-up play."
"Christian Pulisic -- who was not part of the squad during the summer, which yielded plenty of criticism -- was magnificent on Tuesday night, finding so much freedom in possession as he constantly recovered the ball, made chances and notched an assist for Falorin Balogun. Club Am e9rica's Alex Zendejas was also excellent, capping a great performance with a lovely goal."
International break moments ranged from jubilation in West Africa and high-altitude contests in El Alto to a promising result in Columbus, Ohio. The United States rebounded from a 2-0 loss to South Korea by making five lineup and tactical changes, deploying a 3-4-3/3-4-2-1 approach to counter Japan's possession style. The team pressed, attacked and exploited large defensive gaps created by the opponent's high-possession game. Christian Pulisic delivered a dominant all-around performance, creating chances and providing an assist for Falo rin Balogun, while Club Am e9rica's Alex Zendejas finished with a strong goal.
Read at ESPN.com
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