Analysis: Examining Seattle Sounders FC Formation Conundrum
One of the biggest questions in the early part of the season facing the 2025 Seattle Sounders FC team is why, after years of success with a familiar tactical setup with almost exclusively running the 4-2-3-1 that brought 2 MLS Cup titles and a Champions League title, did coach Brian Schmetzer choose to change things up this year with a much different looking 3-4-3?
There are multiple angles one can take to answer this question, but perhaps the biggest reason is an effort to fit certain personnel and score more goals.
For the longest time, Seattle was known around the league as a defensive-first team that shuts down any team they face, and while they won’t blow anyone out of the water on offense, they were optimistic in taking advantage of opportunities and would squeak out victories throughout the season. This is a formula that gave them success, especially in the postseason but was prone to stretches of the season where they would endure long stretches of goal droughts, and also relied heavily on top class players to create opportunities on their own without a system that naturally provides offense no matter who is playing.
The switch to the 3-4-3 theoretically would give more of an offensive structure and less reliance on individual brilliance in an effort to dominate more possession and score more goals. Far too often last season, the Sounders received an immaculate defensive performance just to squeak by with a draw or maybe a 1-0 win. If Seattle could find a way to endure injuries to important players on offense, or even cold spells, so it wouldn’t put as much pressure on the defense to play perfect every single game, which would be an important development going into 2025.
Ahead of the match at home against St. Louis City SC, Schmetzer made the switch to go back to the much more familiar 4-2-3-1 and it would prove fruitful as the Rave Green put in arguably the most complete performance of the season in a 4-1 thrashing of St. Louis. Throughout the whole match, it was obvious that the core players that have been with this team for a number of years now felt so much more comfortable with the role they were asked to play due to familiarity.
The big question now is if Schmetzer will stick with this moving forward and abandon the 3-4-3, or if this was a one time thing and he will continue to implement the new system, which does admittedly take time to master.
It should be noted that formations aren’t everything and players at this level should be able to put in performances no matter what position they are asked to play. At the same time, the job of a manager is to put his players in the best position to succeed, and there are some pros and cons to each choice when it comes to certain players and aspects of the game.
The Case for the 3-4-3
- Alex Roldan can get more involved in the offense as a wing back. It works for Roldan because he is able to get further forward as a wing back and has the versatility to step into midfield while also making use of his best ability: his crossing.
- Nouhou has a more defined defensive role. There is some argument that can be made on if he’s better as a true left back or an outside center back in a back 3, but Nouhou seems to be at his best when the game is simplified for him. As an outside center back, he can be a defensive menace whether it’s on the outside or in the middle without the responsibility of making overlapping runs like he is asked to as an outside back in the 4-2-3-1.
- The happy medium for Jesus Ferreira. Even though the goal production hasn’t come yet, Ferreira works best underneath the striker and being a creative option where his primary focus is not to score goals. He isn’t a true striker, he isn’t a true winger, and he isn’t a true #10, so the 2 playing underneath the striker in the 3-4-3 seem like the perfect role for him.
- The width is utilized greater with the wing backs. One of the ways Seattle has gotten a lot of it’s offense in recent years has been from the wing, but there are stretches of games that wingers can seem to go missing for the Sounders. And while that is natural for a player that generally stays on one side of the field for the majority of the game, with the 4-2-3-1, there isn’t a directive to funnel the offense through the outside like there is with the 3-4-3.
The Case for the 4-2-3-1
- Overall familiarity across the squad. Taking the tactical conversation out of it, there is no doubt that most of the players on this squad who have been here for some time are more comfortable and reliable with the roles they are asked to play in the 4-2-3-1.
- Albert Rusnak can be a true #10. Rusnak is at his best when he is roaming around the attack, with the freedom to create chances and go for goal himself. In the 4-2-3-1, he is the only #10 in the squad and with two true wingers and one true striker around him, they have much more defined roles whereas he can pop up in places where they need him. In the 3-4-3, it is much more structured and he is moved up to one of the forwards sitting underneath the striker. This is much more of a role for someone like Jesus Ferreira, who likes to play off of other attackers, whereas Rusnak usually likes playing the role of provider.
- Paul Rothrock in his best spot. One of the main reasons Rothrock has fallen short of the lofty expectations he set after his breakthrough campaign in 2024 is because for much of the year, he has been asked to play as a wing back instead of his traditional winger spot. It’s not that he can’t thrive there, but when at his best, he is starting higher up the field, taking advantage of space given to him and isolating defenders on the dribble, creating, and scoring. As a wing back, due to both the players in front of him and his defensive responsibilities, he just isn’t in those positions as often as he was last year.
- Center back stability. If everything is executed well, the 3-4-3 actually would provide more versatility defensively with the wing backs dropping back to make a back 3 into a back 5, thus giving Seattle strength in numbers. This also requires versatile center backs that, in a situation where recovery from the wing backs isn’t possible, can drift wide to cover a winger, often 1-on-1. And while this is something that fits the profile of player like Nouhou very well, someone like Yeimar would struggle in this case, and it has happened many times in the early season. He is better in the middle of the field and not being asked to cover much faster and skillful wingers.
Verdict
The best way to boil down the two choices is that one provides versatility and one provides stability. With the 4-2-3-1, you have the familiarity and the lack of a risk factor in relying on things often that are not controllable. With the 3-4-3, if everything is executed well, it’s arguably the system that best fits what the Sounders are trying to do and gives them the best ability in the long run to get more results.
Early in the season, Schmetzer didn’t have to make the choice, as he had the manager’s dream of having practically two starting 11’s he could call on that he equally trusted to get a result when he needed. Players like Paul Arriola, Pedro de la Vega, Jesus Ferreira, and Alex Roldan filled the roles more obviously for the 3-4-3 formation and it provided them early success in the Champions Cup against Antigua. Rocking the 4-2-3-1 were players like Jordan Morris, Albert Rusnak, and Paul Rothrock as a large portion of the group that had been here for the majority of last year. Both squads had ups and downs, but both could be deployed based on the matchup with the opponent.
With the injury bug hitting the Sounders hard recently, Schmetzer hasn’t had the ability to call on both squads as he would prefer, so he’s had to consolidate as starters from both groups have gone down with long term injuries. The biggest question is, with who is left, which tactical setup do the Sounders lean into?
If Saturday’s result is any indication about the comfort factor of the players and which they prefer, it’s the 4-2-3-1. Not that the 3-4-3 also hasn’t provided some good results as well, but in the game against St. Louis, Seattle looked different than it had all year, in a good way. You have to lean into what works and “play the hot hand,” so it would not be surprising if Schmetzer chooses to go back to the old familiar setup that has worked for so long, at least until some of the key injured players come back and give him the ability to have two quality starting lineups once again.
