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SEATTLE — Mauricio Pochettino’s calculus on how to deal with the loss of Folarin Balogun, handed a one-game red card suspension ahead of the USMNT’s Round of 16 match against Belgium, comes down in large part to how much the manager is willing to change about his lineup as a whole.
Pochettino’s system and first-choice starting XI have been hugely effective so far in the World Cup, including against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Round of 32, and he does have plug-and-play options.
Those would be Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright, with Pepi presumed to be higher up on the depth chart.
The PSV striker has a World Cup start under his belt, having started in a front two with Balogun against Australia, and has seen action in every other game since the USMNT arrived for camp in late May.
He also played as a lone striker in the May 31 friendly win over Senegal, showing good chemistry with Christian Pulisic.
That would be the obvious move, given that Pepi’s performances have been largely unobjectionable and it would allow everything else to stay the same.
Ricardo Pepi fights for possession during the USMNT’s July 1 win. Anadolu via Getty Images“His tenacity and energy has been unreal, to be honest,” Tyler Adams said. “I think he’s put some unbelievable performances against the ball. I’ve played with Pepi quite a bit but what he’s shown against the ball has been huge for us, I think, and also for our wingers. They don’t necessarily have to do as much work. He’s holding up the ball really well and when he gets in front of goal, we know he can score.”
If Pochettino isn’t fully comfortable with Pepi or Wright, though, things will get more complicated.
The U.S. could deploy Pulisic centrally as a striker, something they tried without success in a March friendly against Portugal, or as part of a front two, or in a false nine role.
Weston McKennie also played as a striker at times for Juventus this season, and could reprise the role for the U.S., though it would take him out of an attacking midfield spot in which he’s thrived throughout the World Cup.
Haji Wright is pictured during the USMNT’s July 1 win. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectEither of those ideas would require rejiggering at least some of the lineup puzzle.
Players such as Gio Reyna, Alex Zendejas or even Tim Weah, who haven’t seen much action in the World Cup, aren’t natural strikers, but could perhaps do the job under the circumstances as well.
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Those three, along with Brenden Aaronson, could be considered to enter the lineup either way, should Pulisic or McKennie shift to a role up top.
Pepi, though, would be the odds-on favorite.
“We know that if it’s Pepi or Haji, whoever the case, is going to step up next, that they’re gonna do their job as well as [Balogun] just did,” Chris Richards said. “I think one thing about this team is that we’re a really big family and we’ve shown it the whole tournament.”
Mark McKenzie returned to full training after dealing with an irritated foot in the run-up to the Bosnia game.
Cristian Roldan remained in modified training with a quad strain. Adams did extra regeneration work instead of full training, something he’s done before during this camp.
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