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The United States men’s national team has undergone considerable change from one window to the next throughout Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure. And it makes some sense; the Argentine had plenty of first-hand assessments to conduct, limiting the core group’s ability to iron out patterns of play and forge partnerships.
Still, amid all that turnover, Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest were expected to remain the first-choice options at full-back (or wing-back, depending on the system) for the 2026 World Cup. Both had been essential in the 2022 cycle, after all, and continued to fare well when healthy for their club teams (Fulham for Robinson, and PSV for Dest). That “when healthy” caveat has worked overtime throughout Pochettino’s nineteen months in charge, though, with Dest suffering a torn ACL just before the 2024 Copa América and Robinson missing for much of last fall due to knee issues.
On Sunday, in Pochettino’s 25th game as USMNT boss, he picked Robinson and Dest as starters together for the first time. With the tandem restored, the US looked like a much more thrilling and dependable version of itself.
Robinson and Dest fit the modern job description for wide defenders, although they’re hardly clones of one another. Robinson is more positionally measured, comfortable staying along the touchline and occasionally dropping into the channel to join the midfield. Dest carries a bit more dynamism, popping up all over the field to capitalize on whatever opponents offer. Both players have shown a knack for the give-and-go, and are able to forge passing triangles in tandem with defenders, midfielders, and forwards alike.
They’re complementary profiles that dovetail nicely with the other presumptive US starters. The benefits each player brings were on full display on the opening goal in a 3-2 win over Senegal.
Five minutes after the opening whistle, Ricardo Pepi – making his first US start since 18 November 2024 – forced Senegal goalkeeper Mory Diaw to clear the ball toward midfield thanks to some tireless one-man pressing. Thereafter Pochettino’s side began a lengthy sequence of possession, with Dest joining the line of attackers beneath Pepi while right center-back Alex Freeman shifted wider, occupying a traditional station for a right-back. The 21-year-old’s Freeman’s rapid rise from the Orlando City academy to the USMNT and Villarreal has been among the US player pool’s most vital developments. The son of former NFL great Antonio, Freeman has exceptional vision and understanding of how to maximize the freedom that accompanies a wide center-back role.
In this instance, his versatility in shifting wide allowed Dest to stay in the US’s most advanced line as Tim Ream prodded the ball to Robinson along the opposite flank.
Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic and Pepi scampered off the ball to offer Robinson his next option. With Krépin Diatta committing to close down Robinson’s dribbling lane along the touchline, the wing-back opted for Pepi’s lateral run into the channel.
OFten an understudy since Folarin Balogun committed to the US over England and Nigeria, Pepi is still arguably the pool’s best hold-up forward – an argument aided by what he did next. As two opponents converge to force him into a turnover, Pepi spotted Pulisic making a direct run up the channel with minimal obstruction remaining between him and the goalkeeper.
With the defenders committed, Pepi paid homage to his time in the Eredivisie with his take on a Cruyff turn, threading a ball between them and into Pulisic’s stride without overpowering it back into open territory.
Here is where Dest’s loitering paid off. With Pepi having drifted wide to help with the buildup, the nominal right back offered Pulisic a potential target in the box.
Pulisic rewarded his run with a low cross just outside the six-yard box, and Dest powered it into the net beyond a helpless Diaw.
In total, the US strung together 20 passes in 64 seconds between Diaw’s clearance and Dest’s goal. Those final four passes – from Ream to Robinson to Pepi to Pulisic to Dest – took the team from inside its own half to a tap-in in just ten seconds. It’s a sequence that simply can’t happen on the international stage without some well-forged chemistry.
Combinations like the ones maximized in this sequence haven’t been repeated often during the new manager’s surveil of the player pool. Those efforts unearthed understudies and alternatives, like Freeman and backup left-back Max Arfsten, but it has left Pochettino’s side without a distinct tactical identity amid all of his chopping and changing.
You can still catch glimpses of this lack of understanding in the United States’ momentary lapses, as seen on Sadio Mané’s first goal to bring Senegal back into the game. Already up 2-0, Robinson attempted a one-two with Adams, another pair that hadn’t started alongside one another since November 2024. While Robinson was able to nutmeg his mark, the ball was undercooked and easy for Diatta to seize, beginning a break upfield that required just two passes to turn the turnover into a goal.
On the whole, though, the US looked more in sync on Sunday than they have in a while; a vital step to restore hope around this team. The returnees who brought the US to the round of 16 in 2022 are refining those past combinations while forging new ones with newer members like Freeman and Sebastian Berhalter. Effective pressing and off-ball movement requires such cohesion, and they’ll need it.
The US should expect to face a low block against its first two group stage opponents (Paraguay and Australia) before a stakes-dependent showdown with Turkey that could offer scarce openings behind the backline. Senegal proved more adventurous than any of these group opponents, stationing its block further upfield, so it’s possible that spaces like those seen on Dest’s goal will be much harder to come by.
For now, however, there’s reason for optimism once again around the tournament co-host. Pulisic is back among the goals. The US has beaten a second opponent in four games among the world’s top dozen. And with Robinson and Dest maximizing wide areas together at last, those byways to advance upfield have reopened just in time.
