USMNT Stock Up, Stock Down: U.S. Opens World Cup Campaign With a Historic Performance

By Billy McGee - @iambillymcgee

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

For their World Cup Opener, the USMNT played their best game under manager Mauricio Pochettino and perhaps one of their best games ever, defeating Paraguay 4-1, the most goals they have ever scored in a World Cup game and more than they scored in the entirety of the last World Cup.

Here’s a look at our stock up, stock down from the USMNT’s record-setting performance against Paraguay:

Stock Up

Folarin Balogun - In his World Cup debut, the 24-year-old striker joined Bert Patenaude, who scored a hat trick against Paraguay in the 1930 World Cup, as the only USMNT players to record multiple goals in a single game in the World Cup. Balogun is proving to be the quality striker that the U.S. needs, now having 11 goals at the international level for the USMNT. Against Paraguay, Balogun played 72 minutes before being subbed off in the second half, leading the match with 10 touches in the opposition box and having the joint-most shots with five.

Center back partnership - Chris Richards and Tim Ream started next to each other as the center back partnership for the USMNT’s opening match, something they were not able to do in the friendlies leading into the tournament due to Richards being injured. Richards has been rightfully getting lots of recognition for his performance as he completed all 83 passes that he attempted in the match, the most passes attempted without a single inaccurate pass in a World Cup game since 1966.

Ream has not been getting as much recognition for his performance, taking 102 touches, the most in the match, and distributing the ball very well. The captain went 84/90 on accurate passes, including going 7/9 on accurate long balls. The pair didn’t have much to do defensively as the U.S. dominated possession and controlled the flow of the match.

Malik Tillman - Tillman was a mixed bag in the match, but at times looked like the best player on the pitch. The highs were incredible, being a big part of the attack, creating the joint-most chances with three, taking the joint-most shots with five, taking nine touches in the opposition box, having two successful dribbles, making five passes into the final third, and generating 0.65 xG and 0.22 xA. With all that good came a little bad, as he missed a big chance and was dispossessed four times. There was more than enough good to outweigh the bad and give reason to believe he could be a big player for the U.S. during this World Cup.

Alex Freeman - Another defender that performed well in the match, Alex Freeman played the right back/right-sided center back role on the backline. He was on the ball a lot, with 96 touches, joining Richards and Ream as a key factor in the distribution, completing 64 of his 74 attempted passes, including going 5/7 on long balls and creating a chance in the attack. The 21-year-old was also a dominant force in the air, winning six of his seven aerial duels.

Gio Reyna - The 23-year-old midfielder didn’t play much in the match, coming on as a late sub in the 82nd minute, but in his brief cameo, he looked good, completing eight of his nine passes, including a long ball, won two of his three duels, and scored the fourth goal for the U.S. late in added time. A showing like that could provide a huge boost to Reyna’s confidence going forward, helping not just the USMNT in this tournament, but possibly his career in the long run, as things have not gone as he and fans would have hoped over the past few seasons.

Stock Down

Christian Pulisic Availability - One of the few areas of concern in the match was the halftime substitution of Christian Pulisic, which was explained after the game as a precaution taken after he took a kick in the calf area, causing him to feel some tightness. Both Pulisic and Pochettino have said they’re hoping it is not a big deal and that he will be available for the next game. The USMNT’s next game is on Friday, June 19, against Australia, giving him almost a full week to see if he’ll be able to play.