The race for the U.S. men’s national team’s No. 9 role has turned in Folarin Balogun’s direction.
Balogun scored the USMNT’s second goal on Tuesday in a 2-0 home friendly win over Japan. The Monaco forward earned SBI USMNT Man of the Match honors after delivering a hardworking 79-minute shift.
Balogun came close on two occasions to open the scoring in the first half but watched Keisuke Osako deny him on both attempts. Christian Pulisic set up Balogun in the box but his pair of quick-fire shots were repelled away by Osako.
Alex Zendejas opened the scoring for the USMNT in the 30th minute before Balogun added his name to the scoresheet after the hour mark.
Pulisic’s upfield pass allowed Balogun to run onto it before the 23-year-old drilled a low shot into the bottom-right corner. It marked Balogun’s first goal since the 2024 Copa America and his sixth overall in USMNT colors.
He was substituted off in the 79th minute to a loud ovation, winning two duels, drawing one foul, and creating three offensive chances.
Balogun edged Christian Pulisic, Alex Zendejas, and Max Arfsten for Man of the Match honors.
What did you think of Balogun’s performance? Where would you rank him in the USMNT striker pecking order? Do you expect to see him called in for the October and November windows, if healthy?
Share your thoughts below.
I getting the sense that Poch actually knows how make a decent paella, and a proper Spanish tortilla de patatas. Still needs to flip the tortilla without a major spill and finish it in the pan without burning it. Make socarrat.
FYI – the Hispanic commentators on the Telemundo / Univision feed, namely Andres Cantor, thought that Club America Aguilas winger Alex Zendejas made MOM. I thought Balo did great, he put his goal chance away like a cold blooded assassin, like a pro! And I agree with other posters about how well the double pivot between Roldan and Adams worked out. Maybe Tillman and/or McKennie are his competition, or partner(s), in that formation?
Alex Freeman was damn good, too. Deserves honorable mention, at least.
…and this would be what I’ve been talking about. You have to build. And that means trying a bunch of new guys, developing proficiencies and a style of play, learning to play on the front foot – something we’ve always, always wanted the US to do. And you’re going to take your lumps when you play expansively.
And then you finally get it right – not perfect, mind, but the defensive busts were more limited today, and like I said, those are mental mistakes and you can fix those, whereas you can’t invent talent out of whole cloth – and now everybody can see it. The US was flat dominant tonight. Against Japan.
I saw a whole bunch of things that impressed me – like, Roldan, damn, son, sorry I doubted you – but I think the thing that’s most impressed me is this: Poch has broken the hierarchy. He freely mixes players from Europe, from MLS, from Liga MX…and it doesn’t matter where they play, they’re performing and that sense of a team being built off an EA Sports FIFA video game is gone. Nobody’s comfortable, nobody’s complacent, nobody’s certain of their spot or where Poch rates them – and where he rates them is likely not where conventional wisdom has them. And there are no cool kids on the team anymore.
The message is real, real simple: get your butt out there and perform in a US shirt, and I play you, if you don’t, I don’t call you…and now that guys know they’re getting real chances, our pool suddenly seems to be 40+ guys deep. And a whole lot of guys seem to be taking their chances now. I mean, who could have told you with a straight face that Christian Roldan might make the World Cup…ahead of Weston McKennie? But alongside Tyler Adams, who’s the pure destroyer, Poch needs a shuttler who’s press-resistant and can advance the ball, and who’s smart enough to stay connected to Adams…and Roldan flat killed it in that role today. His form for Seattle does not in fact appear to be a mirage.
Whoulda thunk it? Not me, for sure. But this is why Poch gets paid the big bucks.
you post this to the wrong thread? are you really saying that it’s pochettino’s selection strategy that caused balogun to play well? that apparently he needed poch to “break the hierarchy” to do things that he’s been doing for years now (when healthy)?
also, the idea that this is some new thing that the usmnt is doing–mixing players from europe and mls, what a revolution!–is laughable. we looked pretty good last night, but there’s no need for hagiography; just give poch the win and hopefully it’s not another false dawn like the beginning of the gold cup.
quozzel,
When I heard they had hired him, the one thing I wanted from Pochettino was a fresh look at our player pool by an outsider with unquestioned credentials.
Then I wanted to see what that person would do with them.
For me the first and most important thing he did was take Cupcake seriously something no one used to do.
I wasn’t sure he really did but the evidence was there tonight. Freese, Max, Diego, Jack and Ream. Five guys still here and all with a decent shot at making the World Cup roster. A roster that certain mortal locks might actually not make.
I’m far too lazy to confirm it through actual research but that might be a record for guys coming out of Cupcake and making the World Cup roster. I don’t know if MLS forced this on Pochettino or not but it does not really matter anymore.
The bus is starting to roll and if you’re not on it by a certain point , then you might miss the bus.