The U.S. Is Thinking Outside the Box To Find An Edge In Set Pieces — And It's Working
ARLINGTON, Texas — Sebastian Berhalter stood over the free kick about 40 yards away from Saudi Arabia's goal.
He raised his hand, then delivered pinpoint service into the box where Chris Richards was able to get on the end of it and score what ultimately became the winning goal for the U.S. men's national team in its second Gold Cup match at Q2 Stadium in Austin on Thursday.
The victory meant that the Americans would advance to the quarterfinals, though they will conclude group stage play on Sunday vs. Haiti here at AT&T Stadium (7 p.m. ET on FOX).
Richards nearly had a goal earlier in that match, but his header off Jack McGlynn's corner went right into the goalkeeper's chest.
These two scoring opportunities — one that was successful and one that wasn't — are not coincidence.
Since Mauricio Pochettino took over as the USMNT's manager last fall, there's been more emphasis placed on set pieces, both offensively and defensively.
"Offensively, I feel like we've always had the ability to be good at them, but we've never been good at them," Tyler Adams told reporters. "So I think now it's important just putting the balls in the right areas, making sure guys are making the right runs. Obviously, Chris with a great finish, but I think it could be a huge trend for us."
That's what this team has been hoping would be the case for a while. In fact, former U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter (Sebastian's father) had hired Gianni Vio, an Italian set piece specialist, and saw the benefit in last summer's Copa América opener when Christian Pulisic scored off a corner kick that Vio designed.
But outside of a few goals here and there, the U.S. hasn't been proficient enough. Pochettino, however, has placed a greater significance on this aspect of the game.
Yes, working on set pieces consistently is important, but he's also introduced the team to a technology called TrackMan , which provides real-time data on ball flight, speed, launch angles, distance and more. It has been predominantly used for golf and baseball, but according to the company's website, it has expanded to soccer, American football and even hammer throw and shot put.
"It shows if you put the ball in a certain area, the percentage of scoring or getting a head on it or first contact is going to go up," Adams said. "I think putting the ball into consistent delivery has been important, but we have threats. Even Chris, I think he's finally coming into his own. I'm like, 'Dude, go and win the ball, like, you're huge.' And he's continuing to find that balance and be a threat for us."
As Adams alluded to, this kind of innovation is all well and good, but you have to have players who can execute for it to matter.
"The key is to have a player like Chris who is so good at attacking the box and then a player with great delivery like we have in Sebastian or Jack McGlynn, who have a really good touch on the ball," Pochettino said. "Of course, sometimes [scoring goals] happens and sometimes it doesn't happen, sometimes we have more or less luck.
"But it's not only us who are working in this way to try to improve on set pieces in offensive and defensive situations. I think today, all the clubs and national teams are really focused and have specialists. And yes, we are in this way trying to help the players to achieve our goals on the pitch."
Sebastian Berhalter has actually been using TrackMan with his MLS club, the Vancouver Whitecaps, for a while. During the season, he works with assistant coaches Jan Michaelsen and Michael D'Agostino a few times a week so he can keep improving his delivery.
It's paying off.
"I think my whole career it's something that I wanted to be good at, and slowly it's gotten better," Berhalter said. "I think these last couple years in Vancouver they've emphasized it. I sat down with our assistant coach and he told me that, you know, 'This year you can be the best in the league at set pieces.'"
He's now developed a reputation for it, and given how open things are when it comes to Pochettino's player pool, this particular skill set could help Berhalter's case for a World Cup roster spot next year.
"Set pieces are really about repetition," Paxten Aaronson said. "Everybody has the technique, but how many times can you take it? [Berhalter] serves really, really good ones in directions where defenses don't want to put their head. So he does a great job."
The USMNT has been spending 15-20 minutes on set pieces before every Gold Cup game, "really making sure everyone knows what we're doing," Berhalter said. "Even the day before in training, [Pochettino] said, 'Take your time, be calm, you know you can deliver a good ball.' So it's something he's given me confidence in."
As for capitalizing on more of these opportunities going forward, guys like Richards know they can anticipate quality service from Berhalter.
"As soon as I saw it there, I thought, 'This has to be me,'" Richards said.
He hedged correctly, and the USMNT won its second straight game.
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman .
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