USA had no trouble beating Bosnia-Herzegovina and advanced to the next round by doing things their way.
The Stars and Stripes booked their spot in the round of 16 to face Belgium next with a comfortable 2-0 win over the Dragons.
And we could easily notice a few patterns in the ways the USA decided to attack and defend against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Let’s dig in.
Dabble sign-up offer: Bet £10+ & Receive £10 In Free Bets
Not signed up to Dabble yet? Here's how to claim the Bet £10+ & Receive £10 In Free Bets welcome offer:
- Sign up to Dabble through this link
- Register your account with accurate personal details
- Place your first bet of £10 or more
- Receive your £10 in free bets when your qualifying bet has setted
- Use your Free Bet on any eligible sportsbook market within 7 days
#AD 18+ 7-day free bet expiry. Stake not returned. Promotional Terms Apply. GambleAware.org
What were the tactical trends in the USA’s win vs Bosnia-Herzegovina?
Verticality in possession
The USA basically ignored the central corridor in their build-ups and attacks against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Despite a number of quality midfielders, such as Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Malik Tillman, the idea was to get their men into wide areas and running in behind.
And they found success from those attempts, creating passing lanes between the widest opposing central midfielder and wing-back.
It got to such an extreme extent that it generated an interesting response from the Bosnian manager. Sergej Barbarez simply gave up on his central midfield trio at various points during the match when defending. He went from a 5-3-2 to a 5-1-4 quite often trying to combat the Stars and Stripes’ wide play.
Though it was mainly out on the flanks, Folarin Balogun also tried to stretch the Dragons’ defensive line by running in behind.
And it ended up working perfectly, seeing as that’s how they got their first goal. Granted, there was a little bit of luck involved with two deflections between Tillman’s pass and Balogun’s touch. But as soon as the United States recovered possession in the middle of the park, the Monaco striker was off.
The constant verticality in their passes also manifested in the lead-up to the second goal. Antonee Robinson recovered the ball and immediately looked for Sergino Dest – at the time, their most advanced player. He received and won the free-kick that Tillman scored brilliantly.
BetMGM sign-up offer: Get £40 in bonuses when you bet £10
Not signed up to BetMGM yet? Here's how eligible readers* can take advantage of their welcome offer:
- Open an account at BetMGM using this link.
- Select the Sports Welcome Offer.
- Get the offer from the ‘My Offers’ page.
- Deposit and place a £10 bet at odds of 1/1 (2.0) or greater.
- When it settles, unlock £40 in bonuses
New customers only. 7 days to place qualifying bet of £10 at 1/1 (2.0) to receive 4 x £10 Free Bets. 7 day expiry. Exclusions apply. Stake not returned. 18+. Full T&Cs apply. 18+ GambleAware.org
Relentlessness out of possession
The USA are known for their work-rate, energy and ability to suffocate opponents with their press. Before the red card, the co-hosts had the third lowest PPDA in the 2026 World Cup (8.1). After that, it lowered their pressing frequency and their average took a hit (9.3). Though it didn’t stop completely – but more on that later.
This actually took a while to show up against Bosnia-Herzegovina. But once it did, they never looked back.
Their first high-ish recovery led to Balogun escaping in behind and he lost possession but ask for a penalty. The second came in the final third and led to a goal, but the former Arsenal man was offside.
And then the third happened in the middle of the park – but with the Bosnian defence quite high up. Tim Ream’s recovery was a straight pass to McKennie who quickly found Tillman and the Bayer Leverkusen midfielder instantly looked for Balogun, who put it away.
While the striker’s sending off did make their job difficult and meant they pressed less often, by no means did the USA stop doing it. Mauricio Pochettino’s 3-1-5-1 in-possession shape (slightly tilted towards the right) switched to a 4-4-2 or a 4-5-1 out of possession.
It all depended on Christian Pulisic’s positioning, varying from left-midfielder to second striker. And when he was out wide, one of the central midfielders would jump forward and turn the 4-5-1 into a 4-4-2.
After the red card, however, it became mostly a 4-4-1. But McKennie and Tillman kept jumping forward to press the Bosnian defenders from time to time when they tried to play it out from the back.
When the Americans had the ball, their midfielders refused to stay back and pass it around, instead looking to join the attack. The lead-up to the second goal is the perfect example: six players in the attacking half trying to recover the ball as quickly as possible.
Pochettino had so much trust in what – and how – they were doing their work on both ends that it took him 87 minutes to make his first change. That’s the longest any manager has spent without a substitution in a game in the tournament so far.
This stat is already impressive in itself, but even more factoring in that they had been playing with 10 men for 20 minutes before Sebastian Berhalter and Ricardo Pepi came off the bench.
Balogun is obviously hard to replace, but Pochettino and the USA have clearly found their groove. Should be a good one against Belgium next Monday in Seattle.
Read more: