Mauricio Pochettino went into this World Cup with decisions to make for his United States team. There was a first-choice goalkeeper debate, uncertainty at centre-back and nobody quite knew what shape the USMNT was going to play.Two games in, we have our answers. Matt Freese in goal and a back three. Pochettino went for a 3-4-3 in the opening round win over Paraguay, and then tweaked the system in the absence of left No 10 Christian Pulisic, who missed out the 2-0 win versus Australia that all but sealed top spot in group B. Ricardo Pepi replaced him and became a second No 9 in a 3-5-2 shape.Here’s the shape early on against Australia, who defended in a 5-4-1 that largely matched the U.S. up in central spaces.The U.S. did its damage, just like in the Paraguay match, with smart combinations and rotations on the wings. Australia’s wing-backs were instructed on pressing when the outside U.S. centre-backs played wide passes. This made space for Weston McKennie’s darts into the channel that worked excellently in tandem with Serginio Dest to manipulate the back five.Here’s a one-two between them that led to a Dest shot, which perhaps ought to have been a cutback for Pepi.The pass network from the match shows just how strong their connection was — 41 per cent of the USMNT’s attacking half touches came down the right flank in the opening half, nearly nine per cent more than the left side.And yet USMNT’s opening goal on eight minutes resulted from a clever move down the other wing. The same principles were executed, as Tim Ream’s pass to wing-back Antonee Robinson baited out Jacob Italiano.Robinson slipped the ball through to Folarin Balogun, who had the beating of Alessandro Circati for pace. Once in the box, he looked for Dest or Pepi, only to see his low pass diverted into the net by Australia defender Cameron Burgess — the USMNT is the first team in FIFA World Cup history to have opponents score own goals in consecutive games, with their opener against Paraguay coming from a similar move and cutback down the left.Now there’s an element of game state to consider here. In both group-stage matches the U.S. has gone 1-0 up inside 10 minutes and taken control thanks to that. Not only should Turkey provide higher-quality opposition in the third game, it will also test how the U.S. deals — tactically and psychologically — with a game that is more in the balance later on.Without Pulisic, Pochettino’s side is a different proposition, though its attacking patterns and balance were well-executed without him. That is some progression given how the team struggled with a 4-2-3-1 throughout 2025, when losing to Mexico in the Gold Cup final and in the CONCACAF Nations League to Panama (semi-finals) and Canada (third-place play-off).