U.S. men’s national team manager Mauricio Pochettino will name his squad for the upcoming friendlies with Belgium and Portugal in two weeks time—with the race for a place on his World Cup roster reaching a critical juncture.
One particular area of uncertainty is who will play up front for the Stars and Stripes this summer. Goals win games as the old saying goes, but whoever Pochettino goes with will also need to suit the USMNT’s style of play and bring out the best in Christian Pulisic, whose confidence is dipping after a ten-game streak without a goal or assist for club side AC Milan.
Luckily, a couple of contenders stood out over the weekend, reminding Pochettino of exactly what they have to offer. Here’s what they and the other best USMNT performers of the week achieved.
Folarin Balogun
The current frontrunner to play up front, Folarin Balogun, loves playing against Paris Saint-Germain. That’s not something many players can say, given the current Champions League holders remain one of the best teams in Europe, but it rings true for the 24-year-old.
A brace of goals in the Champions League—albeit in a losing effort as Monaco were knocked out by PSG—was followed up another goal and assist in a revenge 3–1 win in Ligue 1. Not only did Balogun help Monaco up to seventh in the table, he also put a whacking great dent in PSG’s hopes of retaining their domestic title—Lens now just sit a point behind after their weekend win over Metz.
Balogun’s up to 13 goals for the season and this was the first time he’s troubled the scorers from outside of the penalty area. Pochettino will have made note of that fact, with USMNT’s troubles with scoring from distance evident in all of the games they played in 2025, and the 24-year-old’s approach play and involvement in transitions ensured Monaco were constantly a threat on the counter-attack.
Haji Wright
Haji Wright already has a World Cup goal under his belt—he scored in the USMNT’s round of 16 defeat to the Netherlands in the 2022 editions—and has every chance of adding to that tally if he continues firing Coventry City towards promotion.
The Sky Blues, managed by Chelsea and England legend Frank Lampard, were running away with things at one point, but a dip in form allowed Middlesbrough and the chasing back to close the gap at the top of the Championship table. Things have picked up again since, coinciding with a good run of goalscoring form for Wright.
He scored number 16 for the season, keeping him just one behind Golden Boot leader, Swansea City’s Žan Vipotnik, and now has six goals in his last five appearances. His effort helped Coventry pick up a vital 2–0 win at Bristol City, maintaining the five-point advantage over ‘Boro and nine-point lead over Millwall in third.
Belgium and Portugal will mark a significant step in quality from second tier English soccer, that goes without saying, but Wright’s confidence is sky high right now.
Chris Brady
The battle to be USMNT’s number one goalkeeper appears to be between the New England Revolution’s Matt Turner and New York City FC’s Matt Freese. But a third spot is available on Pochettino’s roster—a valuable role when you consider injuries and suspensions could come into play—and 22-year-old Chicago Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady is staking his claim.
He made five saves in a scoreless draw with Columbus Crew this past weekend, earning Player of the Game honors in the process. To crack the World Cup roster, he’ll need to continue perfoming at a high level, and hope that FC Cincinnati’s Roman Celentano, the Colorado Rapids’ Zack Steffen and the Crew’s Patrick Schulte don’t have as big an impact in the coming months.
Auston Trusty
Auston Trusty’s had an up and down season with Celtic and is on the fringes of the USMNT setup. With just five caps to his name following his debut in 2019, it would be a surprise for Pochettino to lean on him for the World Cup.
But his dream of participating in the tournament will live on if he stands out like he did against Old Firm rivals Rangers. The most-anticipated game in Scottish football failed to deliver a goal in 120 minutes but delivered drama galore when penalties got underway.
Trusty, who was solid as a rock to help Celtic keep a clean sheet, kept his nerve from 12 yards and eventually saw his side prevail 4-2 to reach the Scottish Cup semifinals. “What an effort from the bhoys!! We keep moving forward...I bet you didn’t expect me to take a pen Vamosss!!!” he posted postmatch on Instagram.
Moving forward into the World Cup picture? It could still happen.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as USMNT’s Four Best Players of the Week—Strikers Prove Point to Pochettino.
