USA defeated Bolivia 2-0 in their first match of Copa América 2024, where they aspire to advance significantly in the tournament they are hosting. The United States Mens National Team is placed in Group C alongside Uruguay and Panama, where they are in a good challenge, especially against Uruguays great attack with Marcelo Bielsa, but lets say that it may be easy for them to qualify as a second at least, waiting for bigger challenges after that.
Christian Pulisic scored the first goal from the first corner kick in the match with an excellent shot from the inside of the box, but there was a well-planned plan to make him shoot from this close distance designed by their new set-piece coach, Gianni Vio, who joined the USMNT setup in October 2023.
The 71-year-old coach has a significant reputation in the world of set-pieces, having good experience in that field with Tottenham Hotspur alongside Antonio Conte, SPAL, Leeds United, AC Milan and others. He was also a part of Italy’s winning UEFA Euro 2020, helping them score three of their 13 goals from set-pieces as well as create numerous chances.
In this USMNT tactical analysis, we will show Gianni Vios tactics with USA which is still in the process of progression but may be a critical factor in Copa América 2024.
Short-option manipulation
Starting with the first corner against Bolivia, which ended with a goal, Bolivia defended with five zonal defenders, three-man markers, a short-option defender and a rebound defender, as shown in the photo below in which a short-option attacker goes quickly to receive a short touch from the taker, Christian Pulisic. In contrast, there are only three attackers near the zonal line, and the others are still walking slowly near the edge of the box, making the man markers wait for them, and we will explain why.
In the photo below, the short-option defender attends on time. Still, the close short attacker and Christian Pulisics overlap puts him against a quick 2-v-1 situation because the one who is asked to help him is the first zonal defender who is late because of this trick. In contrast, there is an attacker stands in front of the second zonal defender, in black, to fix him preventing him from going to help into the targeted area where Pulisic will dribble, at the corner of the box where the referee stands.
This routine is well-designed. An attacker stands on the edge of the box to fix the rebound defender and prevent him from going to the same area, making sure that this area is empty.
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