Fresh off a grueling pair of games against Belgium and Portugal over the March international window, the players from the U.S. men’s national team quickly dispersed around the world and returned to club soccer over the weekend.
For some, it was a quick reintroduction, thrown right into key roles in starting lineups, while others took their time settling back into the grind. At the same time, some USMNT fringe players who did not earn a March call-up had exceptional weeks, as they look to impress manager Mauricio Pochettino from afar and crack into his final World Cup squad.
Here, Sports Illustrated takes a look at the top performances.
Folarin Balogun
If Pochettino was watching Folarin Balogun this week, he might be drawing up some new plans for the USMNT. After floundering as a false nine and second striker in multiple setups over the March window, Balgoun returned to peak form with AS Monaco this weekend.
The 24-year-old striker scored the winning goal in Monaco’s 2–1 win over Marseille, aggressively pressing the defense before making a lung-busting run to beat his defender and finish with an audacious chip over the goalkeeper into side netting.
While his goal cashed in on a mistaken clearance from Benjamin Pavard, his positioning to force a footrace against Marseille’s CJ Egan-Riley made it clear that he thrives in a higher-up position as an outright No. 9, a pure striker, rather than in the adjusted roles he’s played with the USMNT.
Le chef d'oeuvre de 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐧 🇺🇸😍 pic.twitter.com/9N0NEE5P0L
— Ligue 1 McDonald's (@Ligue1) April 5, 2026
Through looking at his performance against Marseille, the way he positions himself for high-quality chances on nearly every attack is vital to his finishing record, and the team has learned to find him in those high-xG areas.
As seen below, on Monaco’s first goal, he slightly hesitated before making a diagonal run to the back post, where he could have executed a tap-in finish if the ball had found its way through. Instead, Aleksandr Golovin finished the chance on a volley, but nevertheless, Balogun’s positioning opened up a vital second option, drawing defensive awareness and a creating backup chance if the cross was mishit.
Although his goal came from a relatively miraculous chance, it showed just how clinical he can be and the kind of threat he can pose when tasked with playing a pure striker role, potentially a factor the USMNT could use given recent struggles.
With Sunday’s goal, Balogun brought his season total to 16 in 37 games across all competitions and now has markers in six consecutive Ligue 1 matches.
Sebastian Berhalter
Many of the USMNT players who played significant minutes against Portugal on Tuesday were eased back into action over the weekend. Still, few made an impact like Sebastian Berhalter did in his Vancouver Whitecaps’ return.
The 24-year-old, fresh off playing 78 minutes against the No. 5-ranked Portugal, played the full match for Vancouver, taking a key role in central midfield while his usual partner, Andrés Cubas, was sidelined with an injury. For most of Saturday’s match against the Portland Timbers, it was typical Berhalter stuff—elite set piece delivery, tenacious tackles and the odd look for a shot from distance.
Yet, it was simply his effort in the final minutes that stood out, a factor that the USMNT don’t always showcase late in games. After Vancouver knotted the derby match2–2 with Thomas Müller’s goal in the 91st minute, Berhalter made a crunching tackle in the defensive third, sprinted up the field and finished a shot from distance to win the game in the 96th minute, as seen in the video below.
Something about Sebastian Berhalter and stoppage time tackles 😶🌫️ pic.twitter.com/HJRDEaYusb
— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) April 5, 2026
While his abilities against the world’s elite and in Pochettino’s ever-evolving midfield setup haven’t quite impressed as they did at the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, his form appears as close to a lock for the World Cup roster as any other player in the pool. He will also undoubtedly be one of the next U.S. players to make a move to Europe—likely England, given his U.K. passport—with his MLS deal expiring at the end of the season.
Zavier Gozo
Could a player who has never been capped for the USMNT make the World Cup roster? Only twice in USMNT history has a teenager made the World Cup team, but Real Salt Lake’s Zavier Gozo could be making a case for it.
At 19 years old, the U.S. U-20 men’s national team player and RSL homegrown midfielder has a characteristic swagger and bravado to his game that few of the more veteran players in the U.S. pool possess, with the senior squad appearing rather timid at moments against Portugal and Belgium.
On Saturday, Gozo—who had a goal and an assist in the FIFA U-20 World Cup last year—flicked the ball up to himself atop the box before smashing a perfectly-placed right-footed finish past Sporting Kansas City’s John Pulskamp.
Would he play many minutes, if any, at the World Cup? Unlikely. Yet, bringing his exuberance, confidence and pure skill could be just the energy the USMNT needs to solidify a unique identity and elevate itself to the peak of its talents, which are already strong enough to make a run this summer.
Claiming Silverware, Eyes on More
Alongside the outstanding performances, it was a key weekend for U.S. players eyeing trophies in Europe. Ricardo Pepi and Sergiño Dest’s PSV Eindhoven beat FC Utrecht 4–3 to win the Dutch Eredivisie for the third straight year.
Over in England, Brenden Aaronson played a key role as Leeds United knocked off West Ham to reach their first FA Cup semifinal in 39 years. He came off the bench in the 38th minute and drew a penalty kick in the 75th minute, when Max Kilman missed the ball on a challenge, leading to Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goal.
After West Ham knotted the match 2–2, Aaronson went on to play the entirety of extra time and scored his penalty kick in the shootout to help Leeds advance to a match against Chelsea in the semifinal before a potential final against one of Manchester City or Southampton.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as USMNT’s Three Best Players of the Week: Balogun’s Striker Form, Berhalter’s Late Heroics.
