The United States advanced to the World Cup Round of 16 Wednesday night with a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Its top goal scorer, Folarin Balogun, received a red card and will miss Team USA’s next match against Belgium. U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino is now tasked with something he didn’t foresee having to handle − finding a way to deal with life without Balogun.
Whether that’s inserting a striker directly into Balogun’s usual spot or swapping his typical formation, the U.S. lineup won't look the same.
Here’s what you need to know about how the U.S. can replace Balogun and its chances without him against Belgium:
How USMNT can replace Balogun vs. Belgium
The easiest option for Pochettino is a direct replacement for Balogun. Besides Christian Pulisic, who also started at forward on Wednesday, the U.S. has Ricardo Pepi, Tim Weah, Haji Wright and Alejandro Zendejas on the roster.
Pepi is the most likely to slot into Balogun’s position, appearing in all four of the U.S.' matches thus far, originally as a second-half substitute. He also replaced Pulisic when he was injured in games against Australia and Türkiye. The 23-year-old scored 16 goals for PSV Eindhoven this past season.
Another option is playing without a true center forward and just running with Pulisic up top. This formation may force the U.S. to shift certain players to different spots on the field, and the U.S. would need another winger to get to 11 players.
Pochettino used this setup in friendlies, but it’s less likely to be deployed than Pepi getting the start and keeping the rest of the lineup the same.
Can USMNT defeat Belgium in Round of 16?
The U.S. was already due for a tough matchup in Belgium initially, but without Balogun, its chances are slimmer.
Belgium has plenty of offensive firepower, netting two late goals and a third in extra time to eliminate a 2-0 deficit to Senegal in the Round of 32. The U.S. will need to keep pace with that attack − which will likely score a goal or two − to have any chance in this game. Not having Balogun could spell the difference in having an effective offense or not.
Despite the setback, the U.S. is still favored to win by oddsmakers. DraftKings has it as -130 favorites to advance to the quarterfinals and +150 to win in 90 minutes. The odds changed by about 20 points following Balogun’s red card, though, per the New York Post.
Source: NorthJersey.com
