INGLEWOOD, Calif. – The U.S. men’s national team can officially turn its attention to the World Cup knockout rounds following a 3-2 loss to Turkey on Thursday.
As the team prepares for a new challenge against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32, we’re here to take stock of the United States’ performance at the tournament thus far – and look ahead to what comes next. Our panel is handing out awards for the USMNT’s MVP, best moment, best attribute, biggest concern, and so much more. Onwards!
The World Cup is here. So is our biggest discount ever.
The USMNT’s MVP so far is…
Andrew Clausen: Despite my effusive praise for Weston McKennie this summer, I’m going with Malik Tillman. The Leverkusen midfielder has proven to be the missing piece in the midfield next to Tyler Adams, providing the passing range, calm under pressure, and defensive work rate the U.S. has been lacking for two cycles now. While he’s yet to be truly tested defensively in the group stage, I still think Tillman has been brilliant and that Pochettino deserves credit for moving him deeper into the midfield.
Joseph Lowery
Ben Wright: Folarin Balogun is for real, y’all. He’s not only the best goal-scoring No. 9 this program has ever had (I said it), but he’s versatile. He’s a much better holdup forward than his 5’10” frame indicates and he’s more than happy to go to battle against a physical center back. Balogun is also elite at peeling off the back shoulder or drifting out wide to get the ball in space. Having a striker of his quality opens things up for everyone else and gives needed certainty in the final third. With a brace and a forced own goal so far this summer, he’s been impactful.
Joe Lowery: The two gentlemen above have gone with my top two answers, so I’ll deviate for the sake of variety. But McKennie deserves his flowers. His off-ball movement has been elite so far this summer, exploiting every single lane open to him on the right – and even flowing over to the left to do the same thing. But that you could make an argument for McKennie or a half-dozen other players is a very good sign for the USMNT.
