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Folarin Balogun replacement options: Best strikers to start with USMNT star suspended vs. Belgium
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- Folarin Balogun replacement options: Best strikers to start with USMNT star suspended vs. Belgium
Folarin Balogun replacement options: Best strikers to start with USMNT star suspended vs. Belgium originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The United States have reached the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup , setting up a showdown with Belgium in Seattle on Monday.
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Mauricio Pochettino has led the USMNT to a stellar showing so far in the tournament on home soil, achieving three victories in their first four matches, something the United States men have never before achieved at a single World Cup.
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However, ahead of this match against Belgium, the U.S. will have to make one significant change, as Folarin Balogun will not be available for selection. The Monaco striker, who leads the team so far with three goals, is suspended for the match after picking up a controversial red card late in the Round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
This means Pochettino must make alterations to the lineup, dipping into the team's attacking depth to fill the void.
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The Sporting News outlines the most likely three options available to Pochettino for replacing Balogun at the striker position, and what each move brings to the table.
How long is Folarin Balogun suspended?
U.S. striker Folarin Balogun will be suspended at least one game for his red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The 23-year-old was sent off by Brazilian referee Raphael Claus after a VAR review determined he committed serious foul play by landing on the ankle of defender Tarik Muharemovic . It was a highly controversial decision, but one the USMNT cannot appeal.
Any red card during World Cup play comes with an automatic one-game suspension, and FIFA could tack even more games on top of it if they determine the foul is worthy of greater punishment.
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For now, all we know is that Balogun will definitely miss the Belgium match in the Round of 16.
MORE: Why was Folarin Balogun shown a red card? | Can the USMNT appeal Balogun's red card?
Who will start at striker for USMNT vs. Belgium?
Ricardo Pepi : The natural replacement
The obvious, like-for-like replacement for Folarin Balogun would be the backup striker Ricardo Pepi.
The PSV frontman is the most likely option to take over up front for the USMNT, since he has been deployed at the World Cup previously, taking over at the No. 9 against Australia when Christian Pulisic was injured.
Pepi is a different striker than Balogun, but a highly capable one nonetheless. Whereas Balogun's strength lies in his off-ball movement to open up space in the penalty area and help link up with the chance creators to generate a high volume of chances, Pepi's most noticeable characteristics are in his pressing and his finishing.
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The 23-year-old El Paso product may not find himself on the end of as many chances as Balogun does, but he still finds the end product nonetheless. Pepi is coming off an electric last two seasons with PSV at the club level, and he has scored two goals in his last four USMNT starts. He's also no slouch in the buildup, with his assist for Christian Pulisic against Senegal (video below) standing out as a highlight of his recent U.S. appearances.
Expect this to be Mauricio Pochettino's choice up front.
Haji Wright : The debut
If Mauricio Pochettino wishes to give Belgium something a little different, he could elect to start Haji Wright up front in place of the suspended Folarin Balogun.
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Wright has technically already made an appearance in this World Cup, but it was only to come off the bench for less than a minute deep in stoppage time against Australia in the group stage. For all intents and purposes, this will be Wright's first real chance to contribute at the World Cup.
The 28-year-old is coming off a stellar season with Coventry City, where he helped the Championship side earn promotion to the Premier League. He's not actually a natural No. 9, more often playing on the left wing at his club, but he has been deployed as a central striker with the national team on a number of occasions to decent effect.
In the end, though, Pochettino has shown a preference to Pepi over Wright across the last few national team windows, and it may have even been that Wright was below Patrick Agyemang on the depth chart before the former Charlotte FC striker was felled by an Achilles tear. This feels unlikely, unless Pochettino identifies something in Wright's game that could specifically play well against Belgium.
Christian Pulisic: The false nine
The most unconventional — and unlikely — option for Mauricio Pochettino would be to move Christian Pulisic centrally into a role that is known as a "false nine."
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A false nine is essentially a creative player deployed in the striker role who comes deep to receive the ball and begin the buildup. In essence, it allows a player to play in a striker position, but often vacate the head of the attack to roam with freedom and progress the ball forward into the attacking third. This role was made popular by Pep Guardiola at Barcelona when he played Lionel Messi as a false nine to devastating effect.
There could be a reason to put Pulisic in this position. Not only would it maximize his touches on the ball, something he struggled with against Bosnia and Herzegovina at times (especially in the first half), but it would allow the most creative U.S. player the freedom to roam rather than limiting him to spaces out wide on the left touchline.
What you lose, however, is two-fold. First, you lose Pulisic's ability to attack diagonally from out wide, something he has been extremely successful with so far at this World Cup. Why have Pulisic dribbling into crowded spaces occupied large central defenders when you could have him running at full-backs who are less defensively-minded?
Second, you lose the presence of a central striker, who is deployed specifically to provide end product. Sure, Pulisic is a great goal scorer in his own right, but he is not a strong aerial presence, and he does not occupy the center-backs like a Balogun, Pepi, or Wright would at the head of the attack. With Pulisic dropping deep to receive the ball, there is nobody to occupy those spaces up top, allowing the opposition center-backs to fill other spaces and mark other attackers.
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The other question here is who to start on the left wing in Pulisic's normal place. Haji Wright could occupy that space, but then why not just start Wright at striker? Gio Reyna would be on his non-natural side, while we saw earlier in the tournament that Tim Weah is ineffective on the left.
In the end, it's hard to see this sacrifice being worth the gain of putting Pulisic on the ball more in central positions. He's been a devastating attacker out wide on the left, why fundamentally change what is already working quite well? Mauricio Pochettino is unlikely to alter the approach this drastically with the current formula working quite well.
