Monaco have figured out how to get goals out of Folarin Balogun - so what can the USMNT learn?

Let's make it clear from the start: there was almost no way for Balogun to live up to the expectations thrust upon him in this first year as a U.S. international. From the moment social media buzz began about his potential arrival, Balogun was depicted as the savior, a player that can take the USMNT from good to great just by showing up.

That's not how it works, at least in the short-term. And that's definitely not how it works for a 22-year-old striker that is still very much finding himself.

Still, despite all of that, the returns haven't been awful. In his first eight appearances, Balogun has already scored three USMNT goals. One of those three came in a cup final, as Balogun helped the USMNT lift the CONCACAF Nations League by scoring while earning just his second-ever cap.

There have been rocky moments, though. He wasn't particularly impressive in the most recent window against Trinidad & Tobago as, without star wingers Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah, the U.S. attack struggled as a whole. You can give him a pass for that, though, as a striker is only as good as his service, and during those two games, the service wasn't very good.

When he has had that service, though, Balogun has thrived, and it's those moments that offer a glimpse into how the USMNT can get goals out of him.

A quick glimpse at Balogun shows one thing: he's an absolute beast on the counter-attack. He thrives when he can get into space and already has the intelligence needed to find those pockets. He routinely finds ways to drift out of sight and, once he does that, he has the pace to run onto any through ball.

It's how he was so dominant at Reims last season, a team that's far from a powerhouse in Ligue 1. And, thus far, several of his best moments, including the aforementioned goal against PSG, have come when Balogun was able to run in transition.

Last season at Reims, no team in Ligue 1 moved the ball faster up the pitch. Their goal was often pretty clear: get the ball to Balogun as quickly as possible. The reason for that? His finishing ability, which is just as impressive as his ability to get into those positions to score in the first place.

"I spend a lot of time analyzing places I should be in the box and where I can find space," he told Ligue 1's official website last season. "And I mean even when I'm watching football games just at home, of course a part of me watches them just as a fan, and I'm just as intrigued in football as anyone is, but I'm also looking to see why certain players, the ball always lands to them. So that's an initiative I've just taken upon myself."

So Balogun's biggest strengths are his finishing, his pace and his movement, all of which are pretty all-encompassing. There's a reason Balogun is so highly-rated, after all. However, he's not a finished product just yet. He's still growing as a player and very much finding his footing at international level.

If you need any evidence to prove that Balogun is still not quite fully integrated into the USMNT, you only have to look at the hilarious Aaronson mishap from November. Balogun is still very new; so new, in fact, that he didn't know two of his teammates were brothers!

The USMNT is still adjusting to him, too. It's an ongoing process, as a big group of young players continues to learn to play with one another.

Throughout the World Cup, the USMNT didn't use their strikers as pure goalscorers. Josh Sargent was brought in for his linkup play, which was on display during Weah's opening goal against Wales. Jesus Ferreira was called into the team for his creativity. Haji Wright was in the squad for his hold-up play and physical presence. None were expressly asked to be a primary goalscorer. Any goals from them would, overall, have been a bonus.

That, though, was due to the circumstances. Gregg Berhalter, throughout his time as a club coach, always relied on having strong finishers to lead the line. They often didn't do much heavy-lifting with the ball, as Berhalter's systems were designed for talented wingers to find a finishing striker on the backpost. In Berhalter's system, a striker had just one job: don't mess up when the ball lands at your feet.

However, Berhalter's club systems also called for strikers that thrive in transition, strikers quite like Balogun. "I remember in the Columbus days, we would have a forward always on the weak-side centerback, always looking to run behind the backline," Berhalter said. "Balo really has a talent for running behind the backline. It's something where you need to just be on the same page with him, really identifying his runs and then trying to get him on the ball. When you see the goals he scored in France, most of them are from quick, behind the backline shots from in and around the penalty box."

As Berhalter says, that finisher will be Balogun, who seemingly fits that role perfectly. There will be some games where the USMNT will be able to play in transition in the way that Balogun likes, particularly in next summer's Copa America. Against many CONCACAF teams, though, the U.S. will face opponents that are bunkered in, where transition moments will be few and far between. If the U.S. wingers can beat their defender, though, and play the ball into the box, in theory Balogun should be there waiting.

Still, that all depends on service. Those that are expected to provide chances will have to change their thinking: instead of looking to combine with someone like Sargent or Ferreira, they'll have to look to find a rushing Balogun darting towards goal. So which player or players are best equipped to do that?

Back in October, Balogun was asked about building chemistry with his USMNT teammates, and he immediately name-dropped one particular player. "Top of my head, I really enjoy playing with Gio," he said.

Gio is, of course, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Giovani Reyna, the player that assisted Balogun's first USMNT goal. In that sequence, Reyna drove the ball forward as Balogun ran into space. With the defender fixated on the ball, Balogun broke free, and Reyna had the vision to play the former Arsenal man in for a thunderous finish.

Against Trinidad & Tobago, Balogun returned the favor. After receiving a ball from Reyna, Balogun played it back first time, sending Reyna through. The midfielder made no mistake, scoring the third goal to complete a 3-0 win. Both players can score and assist, and they've both started to make a habit of doing that along side each other.

It's what Reyna brings as a No.10, which seems to be his long-term position going forward. His vision and playmaking ability are key to the USMNT unlocking the best of Balogun.

For most of the 2022 cycle, the USMNT relied on the MMA midfield of Yunus Musah, Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie. That midfield is very good, but it doesn't have a legitimate playmaker in the bunch, no one that really has the vision to unlock a defense at the moment that Balogun runs in behind.

Pulisic has that ability, as he can definitely make things happen on the left wing. Weah, too, has the ability to help Balogun, as he did on the striker's goal against Ghana. However, the presence of Reyna, or someone like Malik Tillman, in the No.10 position really opens up doors when it comes to finding Balogun.

If Berhalter continues to use Reyna more as an attacking midfielder, it'll almost certainly help Balogun's game, giving him one more teammate to play off of and one more playmaker with eyes up for those big-time Balogun runs.

In October, after Balogun's goal against Ghana, Berhalter made it all seem pretty simple."You can tell guys were looking for him and that's the most important thing," Berhalter said. "He's one of the best players I've ever coached at running behind the backline and you need guys picking up on his runs and you need guys brave enough to play the ball.

"Today, you saw that, so I think that was a step forward for the team in terms of getting Balo on the ball. You saw he was able to score and he could have had a couple of more."

In November, the USMNT wasn't quite as good at that. Balogun had the assist in the first game, making his mark on a match where he didn't really get much service. That service was even worse in the second game, particularly after the USMNT went down a man. That's understandable, though, as we can look past that camp due to the injuries and circumstances.

Overall, it's simply a case of adjusting. Balogun is a player that makes runs that other USMNT forwards don't necessarily make. The team hasn't had a true get-in-behind striker in some time, and the players currently in the USMNT picture have never really played with a striker that moves like Balogun. It takes time to learn new habits and for players to make looking up for Balogun second nature.

That chemistry and those habits are easier to develop at club level, where you can train together every day. It takes a bit more time in the international game, where training time is more spread out. Reims figured it out and Monaco are getting there... the USMNT will then just have to follow the blueprint those two have provided.

It'll be some time before the USMNT can put this all into practice, as their 2023 schedule is finished. They'll play Serbia during the annual January camp, but that group won't include Balogun or the other European stars. We won't see the striker back in a USMNT shirt until late March, when the team face Jamaica in the Nations League semifinal.

The hope is that Balogun will be in strong form by then. Those matches will be hugely important as the USMNT looks to seal a third consecutive Nations League crown. However, just as importantly, those matches will be vital tune-ups for the upcoming Copa America, the USMNT's biggest matches ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

At the Copa America, the U.S. will face South America's finest in games that will feel massive. They'll be Balogun's biggest tests yet and the USMNT's first chance to see what difference he can make that was lacking at the 2022 World Cup.

There's still plenty of time to figure all of this out. The 2026 World Cup is still two-and-a-half years away and, as we all know, much can change in that sort of time period. One big goal during those two years, though, will be maximizing Balogun as the young striker will, hopefully, continue to show more and more for his club.