Is Poch-Ball Already Working for the USMNT?

[@e350mn]

I was blown away last night. Jedi in midfield. Playing with two in the back in moments. I looked up and Tessmann was playing CB. Everyone was all over the place. You could tell Jamaica was confused.

[@Obesetar45626]

And that’s honestly with only 10 days of training, imagine us in march 💀. January camp should hopefully be those coming back from injury or those who are young. Good to implement poch ball in these guys and help them learn the game from a established coach

[@mdfrenchy]

I was at the game. I also noticed A-Rob playing all over the field. I'm loving actually having tactics for a change.

[@e350mn]

@@mdfrenchy yup. Thats the difference between world class coaching and average.

[@USMNT1913]

@@Obesetar45626January camp is going to be a full MLS roster.

[@ryancurfman]

Watching them play in a more creative way is such a breath of fresh air. And seeing Poch’s ability to try new things already that benefit individual abilities to me really shows that he has great potential for us. Also - congrats Jake!! Hope you get several weeks of paternity time!

[@JakeLandau]

Thank you thank you! I'm currently on week 3 of 6. It goes by fast!

[@JosephHansenM]

This was my first time being recommended your channel and I loved the analysis with the game replays. Also, nice Sandershelf.

[@JakeLandau]

What a comment to receive! Thanks so much and I am not-so-patiently waiting for Stormlight 5.

[@karlpk3907]

Nice analysis. I was at the game, section 106, and had a great view of the entire game. Some comments, more or less in random order. As pointed out, we were 3 in the back when on the ball and occasionally just two especially when Scally was more forward. What happened is Musah and Weah were back to touchline, Robinson pinched in almost as a double pivot/attacking 6 with Tessman, while Christian was a pinched in left winger and from time to time would stay central as a combination 10/shadow striker. Robinson was free to make runs and attack, leaving Tessman more of a single pivot and a true 6 when that happened. Agree, by the way, about Tessman, a terrific game by him. He was a pure holding mid, showing for the ball constantly and always making a good, if very safe pass. Wes was mostly on the right, a great lofted ball to Christian for the goal. When Wes got the ball, we yelled "Find Christian!" and he did. It's another example that with our speed we can be a deadly counterattacking team, which we will have to be against a top 5 opponent. This hybrid system will definitely work against weaker opponents like Jamaica, but I question if it will work against a top team. I think we will have to go to a more traditional double pivot and keep good defensive width though maybe Poch thinks with Adams, he can get away with this approach since Tyler is a more dynamic ball winner/destroyer. I guess we will see. Jamaica was slow moving the ball, so it couldn't get around our narrow defensive line except on occasion. As for Pepi, I think Poch really likes him since he is playing a traditional back to goal 9 which works when you control the ball with 4 other guys along the attacking line. Pepi played well, I thought, winning balls, putting himself in position to score, with a really nice far corner finish. He can press well too, not a Balogun strength. Note that we did few crosses, which made sense given how tall Jamaica's center backs are. Jamaica started the 2nd half much better, with a mid to high press that discombobulated us a bit. Tessman was good coming back and showing as an outlet to extract us from any danger. A low note was Demarai Gray's first goal, a real brain fart frankly on the part of Ream and McKenzie. Rewatch that goal and Gray is all alone near the six with four yards of space around him, and by the time McKenzie realized he was ball watching and turned and saw Gray, it was too late to close down. Reviewing the video will be painful for Mark. Gray's 2nd goal can be down to Scally, who did not close on the cross to Gray. On the upside, Bailey was made very ineffective. Really, those two goals should not have happened, though Gray is a very good player. Poch is his press conference noted how the group was much less intense at the start of the second half, and I am sure he will remind them constantly about what happened in this game to almost let a weak side back in the fight.. It was a good win, against a team we should beat handily, but not without some issues. The really good news is that it is clear Poch has approached our pool thoughtfully and is flexible to adapt to opponents while keeping players in their club positions more or less. When Dest returns, Poch will have to tinker with his approaches given Dest's unique talent (though aside from his one mistake, Scally played very well). Finally, both Arena and Berhalter were at the game. Wouldn't it be interesting to interview both of them on their impressions. Hit up their PR folks and report!!

[@NPC-yb3rw]

Congrats on the daughter Jake! And thank you for the breakdown. Of all the channels and clips since Monday, you are the first and only person to break the play down the way you did. Keep it up. Everyone else is merely running their mouth, offering the same 2-3 takes.

[@JakeLandau]

I appreciate that!

[@jasonw4944]

Love the video analysis, especially the breakdown of the first goal. Movement off the ball creates goals.

[@JakeLandau]

Thaks Jason!

[@asnark7115]

No, it doesn't. It goes nowhere until you have a player or two near goal who can draw marks and beat them with the ball so guys in the mid and wings have space to work with. Thinking the way you think is the reason the US has had a tough time getting points from minnows oer the years.

[@JakeLandau]

@@asnark7115 Damn someone is on the hatorade.

[@k.p.8955]

Thanks, Jake! Congrats and good luck with your family. This was a great breakdown. I loved the video examples. You have good insight.

[@LouieRides]

Enjoyed finally watching one of your videos after a really positive performance. Hopefully this is just the beginning

[@JakeLandau]

Thanks so much! We're back to it.

[@DaddyFutbol]

Just subscribed. Amazing analysis of the plays

[@JakeLandau]

Cheers!

[@brianellis2448]

Jake thanks for these highlights so good to see you and congrats on the new addition!! I admit I was pretty frightened when I saw Jedi so central but wow it was so fun to see such a free flowing attack and seemed like Jedi was all over the place. I feel like Poch is going to unlock the full potential of our talent pool in time and this was some pretty amazing wizardry from him. Can't wait to see what things look like with Dest, Adams, and Reyna back and how they can be integrated into his system.

[@JakeLandau]

I was honestly a little worried since I felt like Jedi's best strength is being wide but I was proven very wrong lol

[@8bitrocketstudios]

Jake's Back! Loved to see the guys playing to their strengths instead of like robots running channels

[@JakeLandau]

I'm always lurkin haha

[@c0sm0kramer]

Great analysis, very insightful. We’re allowed to be excited now!

[@JakeLandau]

Yes we are!

[@theaquariancontrarian3316]

I was bouncing off the walls watching their creativity and tenacity. This is the spark the usmnt has missing since the days of dempsy and altidore! So excited to watch this current generation finally come together and create magic on the field! Keep going usmnt 👏👏👏💪

[@JakeLandau]

Couldn't agree more!

[@mateochun]

Good analysis of the game. I will be back for more!

[@JakeLandau]

Cheers!

[@anlerden4851]

Thank you so much Dear Jake for enlightining us about Our Beautiful USA and Concacaf.😍🥰🤗🇺🇲🔥🙏

[@JakeLandau]

Of course!!

[@SergeantSkeptic686]

Congratulations on the baby girl!

[@chinafriends]

Nene Brown LB from Frankfurt would be a great like for like backup for Jedi. He can operate as an inverted fullback on the left side and has size/pace. His goals for Frankfurt have come from him drifting into a central position and helping with possession/attack.

[@archimedesvi]

Congrats on your baby! Love your breakdowns.

[@JakeLandau]

Thank you so much!!

[@brandonboatright3474]

congrats on the baby!

[@christiancanales7]

Congrats on the new little edition to your family!

[@symphonyfarm2009]

Congrats Popa!

[@ggonzalez4530]

Grertings Jake. I am very happy everything is going well for you. Congrats on your newborn daughter. Great video. Keep it up brother. Go USA. Forza Puli.

[@JakeLandau]

Thank you! Will do!

[@monsterspuppet]

Love your breakdowns of games. Wish you were on more often. I may be in the minority here, but I’ve only followed soccer for a couple of years and this is helpful.

[@JakeLandau]

I appreciate that! It’s tough because I have two kids under two and a fulltime job and it takes a few hours of concentration to film, edit, and publish that I don’t have on a consistent basis. Doing the best I can for now!

[@nias2631]

Awesome breakdown of the tactics! I was tryin to workout how Jedi's positioning was being used. I did notice the underlap/blindside runs he kept getting but ty for putting it together. I did catch Pepi pulling the FB with him on Pulisics goal. I noticed none of the other 5 youtube channels I watch caught it. Nice work Jake!

[@JakeLandau]

No thank you for watching!

[@pfang32]

The amount of one touch ball was very impressive. Also a lot of cycling triangles. Players sliding to diff positions everywhere. Defenses hate this type of play as you feel like you are chasing shadows. Love the breakdown and congrats on the new baby!

[@JakeLandau]

Definitely. The play was so fast. One two touch.

[@stephencoons7879]

On the second goal, under Berhalter's tactics, Tessman wouldn't have dummied, he would have passed two Musah on the right wing so that he could put in a cross. I'm not joking - I slide over and over for years.

[@JakeLandau]

Lol hard to know for sure but I tend to agree.

[@Funnybone_FB]

The best part of that attack on the first goal with the movement from Musah and Pepi is it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't moment for the defense. If you don't track them and cover them then you create a goal scoring opportunity at the feet of Pepi, if you don't we see the result. Ofc the technicality from Puli an McKennie make it possible to pull it off

[@JakeLandau]

Damned if you do damned if you don’t is the worst defensive position to be in haha

[@davidvandruff9368]

Who freakin knew we had such creative players??? Now, won't it be fun to see how this team looks with all the top players healthy and playing. Can't wait! Jake, get back to the videos I always look forward to your take. Oh and please feel free to shit on Berhalter. You took the high road for such a long time go ahead and fill you quota. 😁

[@JakeLandau]

Noted!

[@TylerAven10]

Congrats Jake! We all forgot what it was like to actually like this team over the last few years, but I know I found it during this game. Hopefully we can all bury the nonsense discussions and just have some fun. Because that first half was damn fun.

[@DWill2022]

congrats and welcome eloise. GOAT breakdown of the game and overall tactics...

[@JakeLandau]

Appreciate you!

[@stephencoons7879]

I'm glad you commented on Pepi's and Musah's roles in the Pulisic goal. I noticed Pepi but I've heard no one else comment on it, and I didn't notice Musah. Before the game, I was worried that the grouping of Jedi, Weah, and Pulisic would congest the left side the way that Jedi and Pulisic did under GGG. Instead, the way the three interacted was consistently dangerous. They also seem to rotate who is in which spot so that it was unpredictable and hard to defend.

[@JakeLandau]

I think it's easily missed how the actual space was opened for Pulisic to run into.

[@vinniebaratta3508]

Every time I hear the name of the podcast “call it what you want” I get so mad on your behalf. Always good to see you back, man!

[@JakeLandau]

Haha it’s all good. In a way I feel like that’s a sign of respect.

[@bmj4052]

Congratulations!!!

[@Soccerfan03]

Congratulations on welcoming a baby girl into the world! Great video as well.

[@JakeLandau]

Much appreciated!

[@Slimasaurus]

Congratulation on your new born!!! I love the change up in your videos, we've lacked someone doing a tactical breakdown (especially using visuals), for the USMNT.

[@JakeLandau]

Appreciate you! Gonna try and do a bit more of the visual breakdowns

[@donaldpkelley]

Congrats Jake, glad to have you back. Always look forward to hearing your thoughts. Absolutely, not to focus on Greg, but doesn’t it feel good to have him gone!

[@JakeLandau]

I appreciate that! It is nice to be talking about something other than Gregg.

[@fisterhr]

Congrats on your new member of your immediate family! Thank you for the analysis, it's good to learn soccer tactics. Now, is Poch-Ball working? It looks like it is, but against Concacrap teams and well, that doesn't mean much. When they play a worthy opponent from another confederation like UEFA or Conmembol, we'll see if Poch-Ball really works where it counts.

[@mdfrenchy]

What a difference it makes having a manager who actually knows how to attack defenses. The ball movement was excellent. And this was even with missing arguably four of our best players.

[@mikelig8365]

congrats on the birth of your baby!

[@JakeLandau]

Thank you so much!

[@epictetuscasanova]

Jake! Good to see you, sir. I'm new to substack and have been reading your recent posts or whatever they are called.

[@JakeLandau]

Thanks so much! With two young kids it's a lot easier to write instead of recording, editing, and posting a video even though the reach is much wider with a video.

[@RogerCouture-r1d]

another great analysis, thanks Jake!

[@mrmr5580]

They looked good last night, considering it's only Poch's 2nd camp and the key guys who are missing, I think you'll be in decent shape in 2026, you can tell Poch is trusting then to play, he doesn't overload their minds with information but expects them to be fit and able to show intensity, keeping things simple helps younger players develop, Berhalter's style bogged down a very young squad with too much info, like I said its only Poch's 2nd camp, it'll get better still

[@gustavovz8431]

Love the analysis! keep it going!!

[@JakeLandau]

Thanks Gustavo!

[@lastlaughhapps]

That was a very informative breakdown.

[@JakeLandau]

Cheers!

[@SuperSanSanny]

congrats on your daughter! im glad you're back

[@BiscuitsMcGravy]

Thanks. Great breakdown

[@JakeLandau]

Very welcome!

[@danielwestlund9208]

Congrats on baby and time off! Future soccer star! Loved the analysis!

[@JakeLandau]

Thanks so much!

[@medtherockstar820]

Congrats!... You and your children can always share the national teams.

[@JakeLandau]

Absolutely!!

[@mcw3560]

So, how do you defend against such an overload? Switch fields maybe or quick counterattacks to catch Robinson out of position? I just watched Jamaica's second goal. They switched sides really quick and progressed down the field quickly. They scored on the rebound.

[@thorazine8402]

Ah, congratulations to you both. Hope mom is well. And Eloise, you have a cool dad.

[@JakeLandau]

Everyone is doing great thanks!

[@zkeletonz001]

We always said that Berhalter's coaching style works better in a club setting, and now with Pochettino in charge the team is actually playing more like you would expect a club team to with the fluidity and movement off the ball. I'm also very interested in what Poch is going to do with Reyna when he's finally healthy again--however long that lasts.

[@JakeLandau]

Reyna, Dest AND Adams

[@nias2631]

How similar was this setup to what ARG ran against FRA in the WC with Di Maria on the left? The overloading seemed similar, maybe Mckennie was analog to De Paul?

[@JakeLandau]

If you look at the heat map McKennie basically played on the same line as Pepi. So yeah only Tessmann was actually staying back.

[@brianallen5488]

Is that a leatherbound Stormlight Archives in the background?

[@JakeLandau]

Good eye! Yes it is. Waiting for Stormlight 5 soon!

[@Jeremy_724]

I feel like this system is similar to Pep’s with Kyle Walker, no? I love it.

[@JakeLandau]

Walker was one of the first to do it. Last seaosn we saw Jon Stones step into the midfield, and then Zinchenko with Arsenal is another shoutout.

[@jeremysandoval2321]

It’s giving plaudits to the TEAM, not just individual players. It was great work and great play from the team.

[@Casey-cw4hh]

Congrats on the new bambino

[@JakeLandau]

Appreciate it!

[@tandafadel1127]

In Lyon it is similar tactic that is why Tessmann is so fluid in it

[@JakeLandau]

I like how chaotic Lyon are. The games are so fast back and forth.

[@sonnyzadeh]

Nice SF City shirt.

[@JakeLandau]

Thanks!

[@StewartWilding]

Congrats on the daughter!

[@JakeLandau]

Thank you!

[@ExSpoonman]

We looked snazzy AF last night

[@JakeLandau]

Absolutely snazzy af

[@agentsl9]

I coach my U9s to be magnets with their runs to drag defenders out of position and create space for us to attack. Glad to see a US Soccer coach finally applying basic concepts! :) I mean, GGG was so very bad at his job.

[@JakeLandau]

Magnets! That's a great way to think about it!

[@pfortunato78]

The inverted fullback was attempted a few times under GGG. It was dubbed the Nick Lima role that was filling in for Tyler Adams during camp cupcake. The larger change is not wasting a midfielder as a fullback but actually use your real fullbacks as inverted. Jedi did a great job, but there is no way in holy hell Poch will do this inverted fullback using Jedi against a good, pressing team like say, Colombia. He has limitations, and receiving a fizzed ball in tight space while occupying the spot of the 6 is a recipe for absolute disaster. Rather, this may be a trial run for the real A-team that instead makes Dest the inverted fullback, and Jedi gets to play a more traditional fullback.

[@mariocervantes8101]

Offense is looking great; defense needs to play more aware.

[@JakeLandau]

Agree. We were way more lax than necessary

[@thomashamilton2506]

Tanner Tessman could also be depth at a position of weakness CENTER BACK. With the depth at cdm it’s worth a look.

[@JakeLandau]

He's got the athleticism but not sure he's played there.

[@asnark7115]

Any kind of -ball works when you get Puli off the flank and put him in front of goal so we can disrupt defenses and score goals. Glad somebody who gets paid to play, discuss or coach soccer finally figured out how the game works.

[@mikal024]

And some people argued the coach doesn’t matter. 🤦

[@chancemiller9340]

"Poch" should be pronounced like "POACH"... as in poached egg. He's a native Spanish speaker with an Italian last name. In either language, all "o"s are what we would call "long" in English. They should rhyme with "oak", "spoke", "poach", "cloak"... ...POACH... We finally have a manager that knows what he is doing. We should respect the man. 👍

[@JakeLandau]

Noted sir!

[@magneticpitch]

so so glad i never have to watch Beerholder's 'soccer terrorism' ever again. last night showed so much promise. i have hope again. congrats on the baby!

[@JakeLandau]

We have been exonerated from soccer terrorism.

[@e350mn]

As you know, GGG was at the game. Do you think his eyes were opened a little?

[@JakeLandau]

Maybe in a way that was a little bit of a weight off and I hope he got to just enjoy it.

[@erankreitmanek]

Congrats on fatherhood dude!

[@douglasharley2440]

yeah, i was *super impressed* with tanner tessman...dude looked like a linchpin which one might turn a mighty team wheel upon. lol, was laughing my ass off to see gregg and bruce in the audience last night, i bet they were like 🤯🤯.

[@JakeLandau]

Haha I'm sure in a way it's a little weight off Gregg's shoulders.

[@douglasharley2440]

@@JakeLandau lol, getting fired when you _know_ you should be is always a little weight off one's shoulders.

[@saylortusk8489]

Was this the channel that said Jesus Ferreira is the best US forward because his xG is high?

[@JakeLandau]

Let’s go back and look three years ago when Balogun, Pepi, Sargent didn’t really exist.

[@saylortusk8489]

@@JakeLandau Sargent was playing at Werder Bremen six years ago.

[@brandonhall5615]

Congratulations on the sex! I hope everyone is happy and healthy! Great analysis. For so long I've bemoaned the fact that our managers seemed to come in with self-imposed formation/tactical blinders on; unwilling to alter their desired style of play to match the available players. It is great to finally have a high-level manager who actually manages, rather than trying to stuff our players into forms/shapes that they are not suited for.

[@colinreese]

Pulisic started roaming all over the field to get the ball and control the passing on his own. Then, McKennie followed suit. I doubt it's Pochettino that caused this.

[@gabesullivan5531]

hell yeah, zealand is back

[@JakeLandau]

Haha are you enjoying Zealandism?

[@gabesullivan5531]

@@JakeLandau this was my favorite one so far

[@jeremyfallis4692]

10:31 "I don't want to spend too much time shitting on Gregg Berhalter..." I mean, we all kinda think you do, and it's totally justified.

[@JakeLandau]

Lol it’s just that talking about this team is so much more fun

[@ToblerX]

This just shows that - contrary to what Berhalter apologists have been saying - we have talented players. These tactics are extremely hard to defend by Creating overloads in myriad ways, and just generally being unpredictable. Berhalter ball was boring and predictable. The players looked like they were actually having fun out there. It was so much fun to watch!

[@ooj316]

2:21 100%%%%%%!!!!!! it's always been frustrating watching the Americans being forced into a style and formation which stifles the creativity and plays largely defensive. Congrats on the kiddo!

[@gandalfgreyhame3425]

I just realized that you had disappeared from my KZbin subscription, because your channel "It's Called Soccer" has been taken over by another big media group with Gary Neville, etc. What happened? Did they pay you a chunk of change to buy the name from you? Or did they just steal it?

[@JakeLandau]

Their team was extremely gracious and paid me for the brand. I am very grateful to them for respecting the time I put into building it.

[@joesantos-ee4yo]

When we do this against lower level teams it will look great but when we do this against real quality we will get punished.

[@MrHoojaszczyk]

That Puli Trump dance was epic. Game was one of the first time when US fully dominated.

[@dixoncider8372]

So everyone is congratulating Pochettino… so I’ll be the first to say Good luck getting sleep with the newborn lol

[@JakeLandau]

Haha thanks. So far so good...

[@mackdeen7021]

Porch BALL? Do we really need to do this? It’s was “Berhalter -ball”because under GGG it was a unique inefficient terrible style for this team so the Berhalter-ball stuck. But that they are playing more efficiently and look better in the ball and have an actual strategy in the box we don’t have to put “ball” after coach’s name. Let’s just call it good soccer.

[@olanderdecastro52]

WTF is Poch ball? You mean getting guys in front of the net so they can make some goals? OK… I guess but isn’t that just what we’re supposed to be doing?

[@staurossc2010]

I thought coaching didnt matter hmmmm😅

[@arasheqajar]

It’s Jamaica. Even a crappy tactic will work. This shows nothing for me. He should get a result against a team that’s on the same level

[@JakeLandau]

Last time we played them in NL we needed a 90' own goal so... it is ok to compare I think.

[@notapplicable4567]

the hype is crazy..... guuna suck when you lose again. again a better side. jeez one win and you lose your minds. Jamaica literally sucks... very bad.

[@lawrencelipman5426]

DUDE>>>It took you 5 minutes to start showing the entirety of your thesis...Please...no one has that kind of patience

[@stewartrickert]

What's funny is if the same results happened under GGG everyone would be complaining. I'm not saying its good, I'm not saying its bad. I'm just saying, that's the part of any coaching change that cracks me up. You achieve similar results and because one group likes a coach, its the best thing every. If they don't like the coach its the worst thing ever. Again, it can be good or bad depending on your POV, but it is what cracks me up a little bit about this all.

[@nias2631]

I have defended Greg a few times but I don't think that could have happened under Greg because of the zone system he was running. Since certain spaces had to be filled to maintain shape you could never get overloads like this on one side.

[@stewartrickert]

@@nias2631 Oh I agree the tactics are different and it looks different. I simply mean if GGG had defeated Jamaica twice, people would have complained. Yes, the tactics are certainly different. I was just speaking of the results. If we dominate Concacaf now the same people who lamented that we weren't doing more than that will celebrate when previously they complained. That was my point. And its the normal way a change works. But its part of the wanting a change process that makes me laugh

[@davidbrick6325]

We'll never know how fans would have reacted if GGG had beaten Jamaica in back-to-back competitive games, one on the road and one at home. Why? Because we never did that under GGG. But here's what we do know. The last time we played Jamaica with GGG, we needed an own goal in stoppage time just to tie it up. And we were playing at home. If Poch had us performing like that, you can bet fans would be screaming. I would.

[@starwarssatan5588]

It's called "futbol."

[@anlerden4851]

I'm so proud of Dear Christian Pulisic and Our Beautiful USA Men Team Dear Jake We are on the right track under Poch Era.🥰😍🤗❤🤍💙💯

[@robertbush4808]

Congratulations!

[@JakeLandau]

Thank you!