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Haji Wright, Folarin Balogun, Ricardo PepiGetty/GOAL
Ryan Tolmich

USMNT Striker Rankings: What have you done for me lately? Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi lead the pack, but form and fitness trump all ahead of 2026 World Cup

With the World Cup less than a year away, GOAL ranks the strikers competing to make Mauricio Pochettino's squad

There is no position as discussed or dissected more than striker. It's always been that way. That fact applies to the U.S. men's national team - and perhaps doubly so after the struggles during the 2022 World Cup. From the moment the USMNT's run in Qatar ended, there was one pressing question: could the U.S. find a No. 9 who could make the difference?

That wasn't the only cause of their undoing at the 2022 World Cup. But throughout that run, the USMNT's lack of presence up top was noticeable. The hope has always been that, by the 2026 World Cup, there would be a solution. And so now Mauricio Pochettino must choose among several candidates. It's a good problem to have, but it doesn't make the selection any less crucial.

Choose right and the USMNT could make a run next summer. Choose wrong? Well, that could be the difference between winning and losing.

Striker is, of course, a position based on form. As much as anything, it's about riding the hot hand and using confidence to your advantage. There are other factors at play, as well - athleticism, timing, decisiveness, chemistry. All will play a part in determining who starts for the USMNT next summer, who comes off the bench and who might just be left out.

GOAL looks at the current state of USMNT strikers ahead of the November camp.

  • Josh Sargent, USMNTIMAGN

    5Josh Sargent

    It's crazy to think just how different things could be for Sargent with little luck. If he had scored during his chance at the Nations League, who knows where we'd be? If he had gotten the Gold Cup call-up, maybe his goalscoring drought would be behind him. If he had featured against Japan, not South Korea, maybe the conversation would be different.

    None of those happened, however. As a result, Sargent still sits on a multi-year USMNT scoreless streak, dating back to 2019, and with so few national team games left before the World Cup, it's going to be tough for him to make his mark.

    That's the thing with Sargent: this has nothing to do with club performances, solely his results with the national team. On the club level, he's struggled a bit recently, by his standards. But by any metric, he's still one of the Championship's most lethal finishers. He's a player that can score goals in a variety of ways, and one that could ultimately determined whether Norwich City get promoted or not.

    What he hasn't been able to do, though, is score for the USMNT. And with others doing just that in their more recent appearances, the odds are getting longer for Sargent to make the World Cup squad.

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  • Patrick Agyemang USMNT vs HaitiGetty Images

    4Patrick Agyemang

    Agyemang is intriguing. Though he still has the most to prove, just a year into his international career, his rise has been rapid. Where will it lead?

    Off the heels of his USMNT breakthrough, which began with a performance in January camp that clearly endeared him to Pochettino, Agyemang moved to Derby County over the summer. His impact was delayed due to injury, but despite that, the former Charlotte FC forward did have a goal and two assists for Derby in September.

    Agyemang's unique combination of physical gifts make him difficult to deal with, which, in turn, could put position him as a potential supersub in a World Cup setting. He is, however, still very new to all of this, and those ahead of him are significantly more proven at higher levels of the game.

    The fact that he was in October camp means he's very much in the mix. It will all depend how he fares with Derby this season.

  • Haji Wright USMNTGetty Images

    3Haji Wright

    There is notable a gap, right nowm between Wright and Agyemang. The reason? The two goals he scored against Australia during the October international break.

    Wright is a man in form and currently leads the Championship in goals. The fact that he netted twice against Australia wasn't surprising - those two scores extended a streak in which he had 11 goals in his last 11 games for club and country. It was essentially expected given the way he's been banging them in so frequently for Coventry City.

    The quality of the goals, though, cannot be overlooked. On the first, he ran onto a through ball and absolutely rifled a shot into the back of the net, a finish only a confident striker can muster. The second? A patient, curling effort on which the 27-year-old striker breezed past a defender before picking out a corner with both composure and finesse.

    Those types of finishes keep Wright in the mix as he looks to make it to a second consecutive World Cup.

  • Ricardo PepiImago

    2Ricardo Pepi

    It's been challenging to judge Pepi's form, largely because it's been so long since he's worn a USMNT shirt. You have to remember, then, just how good Pepi was in those final months of 2024. In that sort of form, he might just be the starter.

    He scored 11 Eredivisie goals in just 693 minutes, a ridiculous goalscoring return. In addition, he netted four goals in the cup and two in the Champions League, emerging as the guy for PSV. Injuries then derailed that, and Pepi is only just now coming back after his season ended in January.

    Prior to all of that, Pepi was in great form with the USMNT, too. He scored last October against Panama and then netted in back to back games against Jamaica one month later to emerge as the early star of the Pochettino era. We haven't seen him since due to that knee injury but, when he was working under Pochettino in those first few weeks, Pepi seemed to be a player that could start at a World Cup.

    The PSV striker has a point to prove going forward. Is he the same player he was pre-injury and, if he is, is that enough for him be the starter?

  • United States v Ecuador - International FriendlyGetty Images Sport

    1Folarin Balogun

    If there's one thing we've learned over the last two camps, it's that Balogun has everything it takes to be the No. 9. He is a striker that has speed, athleticism and timing. Finish? He's got that, too. The one thing that might just hold Balogun back is his club form, but there are signs that the tide could be turning in that aspect, too.

    After scoring two goals in as many starts for the USMNT over the last few weeks, Balogun scored for Monaco over the weekend, bringing his good USMNT form back to Ligue 1. He hadn't started the season with as much momentum as he did at Reims. For strikers, though, all it can take is one  goal sometimes, and Balogun now has a few under his belt.

    The reason Balogun was recruited so heavily a few years back was because he has the ability to be a difference maker. So far, during his time in a USMNT shirt, he's proven that. He's scored in the Nations League final and Copa America.

    Now, back to full fitness, he's scoring against World Cup-caliber teams under Pochettino, too. That's why, at the moment, he seems to be the USMNT's best option. Will that hold? That's the question both Pochettino and USMNT fans will be asking ahead of the World Cup.