Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi, the competition is on! USMNT winners and losers as both strikers make their mark in win over Oman

It was, at least partly, a function of the game, as Oman's 4-4-2 diamond left them exposed. However, there's no denying the performance McKennie put in in this one.

The Juventus midfielder played a seemingly never-ending series of diagonal balls, routinely opening up Oman's defense. In the first half, in particular, McKennie made it feel like the game was being played under his control thanks to both his passing and effort.

That passing was the most noticeable part of his game, but it was the effort that helped pave the way for the USMNT goal. It was his hustle that kept the sequence going, leading to Balogun's goal, and that effort never went away no matter how lopsided the score got.

It was a big game for McKennie, one even better than his performance against Uzbekistan. Despite not getting on the scoresheet, he was likely the Man of the Match, making quite a statement as he heads back to Juventus.

The smile on Benjamin Cremaschi's face said it all. As he prepared for to come in for his USMNT debut, the Inter Miami teenager was smiling from ear to ear. You could see this meant something to him.

And that's great news for the USMNT, who may just have the inside track on his recruitment. Cremaschi may have Lionel Messi in one ear, but whatever the USMNT is saying in the other seems to be working.

It wasn't a wildly eventful debut. Solid, but not spectacular, it's fair to say, as Cremaschi didn't look out of his depth against a team that, for most of the night, looked out of theirs. Still, the questions immediately turned towards the future: with this one USMNT appearance under his belt, what does that mean for his future with Argentina?

"We didn't talk about that," Berhalter said. "We'll have time talk about it. To me, it was about letting him see the environment, letting him see the guys, get to know the guys, know the coaches.

"His performance did nothing to change my opinion: I think he's a highly, highly talented player. He has exciting potential, and I think he showed that today."

It's felt like forever since the USMNT had a competent striker. It proved to be their undoing at the 2022 World Cup. If that team had someone, anyone, that could finish chances, who knows what that tournament would have looked like?

These days, the U.S. doesn't just have one; they have at least two. Heck, it could be argued that there are three or four. But, on this day, the focus was on Balogun and Pepi, the clear frontrunners in this ever-changing striker race.

After a fairly quiet game against Uzbekistan, Balogun made an early impact against Oman. His goal set the tone, leading to the onslaught that followed. Yet, Berhalter says he believes Balogun could have scored more and, in the future, he will as his teammates adjust to his game.

"I think we're still trying to figure out the best way to utilize Balo because we know that he's high quality," Berhalter said. "He made a number of good runs behind the back line that we didn't pick up on so he's still integrating on that side of it."

As for Pepi, Berhalter was quick to praise the striker, who has used his World Cup snub as fuel to start this cycle. He's been unstoppable for the U.S. so far this year and looks like he's recovered all of the confidence that was drained from him at Augsburg.

If the Copa America were to start now, Balogun would likely be the guy up top, but don't write Pepi off just yet. Those two will continue to push each other, it seems, and that's great news for the U.S. after waiting so long to have goalscorers like this.

In his pregame availabilities, Berhalter routinely pointed to the dangers of Oman's counterattack. Despite not being a traditional power, Oman are a team that can cause teams problems. Just last year, they played Germany tight in a 1-0 loss, while this year, they already beat World Cup partcipant Saudi Arabia in the Gulf Cup.

There was no danger, though, on Tuesday night. Oman had absolutely nothing for the USMNT.

Routinely torched by the U.S. throughout, Oman's 4-4-2 diamond was picked apart. And, in the few moments when they did get the ball, the USMNT centerback swept up anything Oman tried to throw at them.

Berhalter left the game thrilled with his team's defensive performances, saying that he gave Miles Robinson and Chris Richards game balls as co-Man of the Match.

"We never do that," Berhalter said. "The reason why we did is because the counter attack was non-existent. Anytime they tried to run the channels, they were there."

As complete as the U.S. performance was, it was equally poor from Oman, who will need to go back to the drawing board as they begin World Cup qualifying next month.

Much like the striker position, the U.S. struggled all last cycle to find a backup leftback. Tuesday night showed, though, that they have at least two main contenders for the job.

The first is Kristoffer Lund, the newly-recruited dual national who made his debut against Uzbekistan. Given a full run out this time, Lund impressed, getting up and down the left-hand side with an energetic performance.

And the second? DeJuan Jones, who is building off a solid Gold Cup after being brought in as a late addition this week. With Joe Scally leaving camp, Jones was brought in, and he responded with an assist off the bench.

You can also include Kevin Paredes in this conversation, even if he was brought into an attacking role. A left-sided player that can play anywhere on that side of the field, Paredes created a goal as well, setting up an own goal that closed the scoring.

There are contenders in that position and, finally, there seems to be some depth behind Antonee Robinson. The Fulham star was given a deserved rest, having been the USMNT's ironman for years. He may not have to be any longer as there are a few players Berhalter may be able to rely on if this was any indication.