Doug McIntyre
Soccer Journalist
ST. PAUL, Minnesota – Three days after beating Uzbekistan 3-0, the United States men’s national team closed out September’s international window with its second consecutive runaway win over an opponent from Asia, this one a 4-0 victory against Oman Tuesday at Allianz Field.
Folarin Balogun opened the scoring with his second career goal for the U.S. Second half substitute Brenden Aaronson doubled the advantage from a free kick and fellow sub Ricardo Pepi added a third before an own goal by the visitors completed the rout.
Here are a few quick takeaways plus reaction from the players and coach Gregg Berhalter after Tuesday’s match.
Play of the game
As was the case last game, U.S. midfielder Weston McKennie did most of the work in the buildup to the first goal:
McKennie dispossessed Oman’s Abdullah Fawaz in his own half, held him off then danced past his midfield counterpart to create enough space to find Juventus teammate Tim Weah with a pinpoint diagonal pass. Weah laid the ball off for Sergino Dest, and Balogun knocked home the rebound of Dest’s shot, which was saved by visiting keeper Ibrahim Al-Mukhaini.
It was a poacher’s goal for Balogun. McKennie was the best American player on Tuesday, despite missing an opportunity to score late. “He did what Weston does, hitting long balls the whole night. “
He played excellent,” Weah said. “He should’ve scored at the end but I am happy for him. “
Turning Point
After taking the lead in the first game, the Uzbeks were allowed to come back into the game. The scoreline is a bit misleading. This time, it didn’t happen. After scoring a goal, the U.S. did not let up and dominated Oman from start to end. They fired 19 shots as opposed to Oman’s 7. FOX Sports asked Berhalter if this was a focus. “We need to be more aggressive with our runs from behind than last time. Last game was a poor performance, and I think we should be more clean with the ball. There were times when the ball was held on a bit too long. Overall, the boys did a fantastic job. Pepi scored his sixth goal in six matches for the USMNT this year. That’s huge for the 20-year-old, who was surprisingly left off the USMNT’s World Cup roster in 2022 after exploding onto the scene in qualifying a year earlier.
“Coming off the bench, my job is to score some goals and I feel like I did that,” said Pepi, who found the net for the fourth time as a sub in 2023. It builds confidence. The USMNT will return to their clubs on Wednesday. The MLS contingent will return to the clubs they represent on Wednesday. The first match is between four-time world champion Germany and France, FIFA’s number two ranked team, played earlier on Tuesday. After that, the Americans will meet frequent World Cup nemesis Ghana; the U.S. and Black Stars faced off at three straight tournaments between 2006-14.
Those October matches will reveal much more about where exactly Berhalter’s team stands with the next World Cup just over two and a half years away.
“We want to put ourselves against the best nations and test ourselves,” Balogun said. Balogun said, “Those are only two teams standing in our way. Follow him on Twitter @[we].
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