Iron Sharpens Iron
This is the best generation of strikers the USA has ever had. Clint Dempsey keeps using the phrase, “Iron sharpens iron,” to talk about the battle between Ricardo Pepi and Folarin Balogun. For the foreseeable future, it is Balogun’s spot to lose, but regardless, we have two very talented strikers when going into the World Cup in Qatar it looked to be our weakest position. Still amazed players like Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan were called up while Pepi was left home.
The point USMNT legend and the country’s greatest striker in modern history, Clint Dempsey, is making, is that the two of them are capable of existing in the same setup and challenging each other to new heights. While only eleven players can be fielded at a time, sometimes it takes fourteen or fifteen to be the difference between victory and defeat, especially in international tournaments. Quality in depth is a big reason behind Morocco’s surprise WC campaign.
They’re two different players, Balogun the more well rounded forward, a two footed clinical finisher who also contributes link up play, while Pepi brings a different level of intensity and persistence, particularly in his press (even though Berhalter criticized this aspect of his game undeservedly). But they play the same areas of the pitch, and so similar roles that they are interchangeable, and both capable of putting the ball in the back of the net and impacting a game in ways in which no USMNT striker since Dempsey has.
And they are 21 and 20 years old
Balogun is currently on the books at Arsenal, but after a successful loan spell at Stade de Reims in France last term, is looking at something more permanent in his immediate future
Ricardo Pepi is contracted to FC Augsburg, who broke all kinds of records for both their club and the MLS by signing Pepi for $20mil in January 2022, but he has struggled to get off the ground in Germany, and looks to move to PSV after picking up 15G+As on loans at FC Groningen last term
No One Forgets Their First
Okay one innuendo never hurt anybody…
Chris Richards scored his first goal for the red white n blue on Sunday, the first in the 2-0 victory over Canada in the final.
He’s not played much for Crystal Palace since moving on from Hoffenheim and before that Bayern Munich, but considering Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen are the two names in front of him that’s not truly an insult. He’s only gone and secured his spot next to Tim Ream in this squad’s current best XI. Which opens up the question… is Tim Ream and Chris Richards the best CB partnership for 2026?
After the celebrations, Richards returned to his home in Alabama, to attend a match for boyhood club Birmingham Legion, a side which made it to the US Open Cup Quarterfinals after toppling Charlotte FC in the Round of 16. They broke Alabama attendance records for both of those matches.
Theatre of Dreams, or Black Hole of Silence?
Two days after the USMNT dismantled Canada in the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Final is Las Vegas, Scotland hosted Georgia in Group Stage Qualifiers for the Euros next year. Similarly, they dominated the game and won 2-0. The main difference being the near 2 hour rain delay.
And yet during those two hours, the crowd never stopped singing. They remained patient, they remained positive, and above all they remained passionate. Watch this video taken during the stoppage
Unfortunately, I don’t have any similar videos from a final against our top competitive rivals in CONCACAF at the moment that took place in our biggest party city in a shiny brand new stadium, probably the best stadium in the world at the moment.
Why?
Because the attendance was abysmal.
A few dozen Mexico fans are louder than a thousand USMNT supporters, regardless of the chant. Not only do our attending supporters disappoint, but the attendance numbers themselves are also pitiful. That stadium should be packed full of rowdy American’s ready to express their pride.
Perhaps it’s a product of the times, but the simple fact is the US Soccer culture… sucks.
We need systemic change top to bottom to change this, and it’s our most critical World Cup Cycle since 1994.
Yes, Scotland has been doing this since the 1800s, but the success of clubs like Union Berlin, and countries like Senegal, Canada, and Japan show that football culture can be built and improved surprisingly quickly
Platinum
Any Playstation users out there knows the swell of pride when that platinum icon pops up. Going platinum is one of the big dreams of musicians everywhere. It takes a certain kind of swagger to pull off platinum blonde hair. A certain kind of superstar. And that’s exactly what Gio Reyna was against Mexico and Canada this week
Two assists in the first half against Canada before being forced off with injury has driven home the point that Giovanni Reyna must be starting for the USMNT when fit. His first touch silky, and final ball deadly, Reyna has arguably the most irreplaceable talents in this squad, knowing exactly when to drop deep to get on the ball, and when to stay high and provide the outlet. Spraying passes all over the pitch and making defenders look like baby deer in ice skates, Reyna announced himself as necessary to this USMNT starting XI.
Good thing the coach who benched him for the World Cup in Qatar is long gone, right guys?
Conclusion
That wraps things up, thanks for reading everyone and hope you have a great day, see you next time!
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