USMNT Tracker: Balogun, Pepi and Wright all score as competition for No 9 spot hots up

The race to lead the United States men’s national team’s attack has rarely looked so lively. Across three European leagues this weekend, the trio of strikers most frequently mentioned as solutions to the long-running No 9 question all answered with goals, underlining the depth at coach Greg O’Keeffe’s disposal ahead of the summer’s competitive fixtures.

Folarin Balogun stole the Ligue 1 spotlight on Friday, curling a superb strike from the edge of the box to help Monaco defeat Paris Saint-Germain 3-1. The goal, his seventh in 21 league appearances, continued a personal hot streak that has seen the 24-year-old find the net in consecutive matches. Supporters rewarded the forward with February’s club MVP award after he also scored twice against PSG in the Champions League play-off first leg. Balogun finished that European campaign with a career-best five goals, and his new nickname “Balo-goal” is spreading quickly around the Principality.

Across the border in the Netherlands, Ricardo Pepi reached double figures for the season in equally dramatic fashion. The 23-year-old, still regaining full fitness after a broken arm, started PSV’s top-of-the-table clash with AZ and capped an 86-minute performance by slotting the decisive goal in a 2-1 victory. The strike moved PSV 19 points clear at the Eredivisie summit and kept Pepi within sight of the club’s league scoring lead; he trails team-mates Guus Til and Ismael Saibari by two goals. Despite spurning earlier chances, the American’s persistence impressed manager Peter Bosz. “He is a player who always gets a moment,” Bosz said post-match. Premier League interest persists, with Fulham having attempted to sign Pepi during the January window.

In England’s second tier, Haji Wright kept his own golden run alive by scoring for the fifth time in as many games. The 27-year-old’s close-range finish just before half-time secured a 2-0 win at Bristol City and preserved Coventry City’s five-point cushion at the top of the EFL Championship. Manager Frank Lampard praised the goal’s timing, calling it “crucial to our mindset.” With 16 league goals, Wright sits one behind Swansea City’s Žan Vipotnik in the golden-boot race.

While the forwards flourished, Christian Pulisic offered a reminder of his playmaking influence in the Milan derby. Although still searching for his first goal of 2026, the winger created three chances and helped AC Milan trim Inter’s Serie A lead to seven points. Manager Max Allegri remains confident Pulisic will regain scoring touch after a disrupted pre-season.

Elsewhere, three Americans will feature in mid-week Champions League round-of-16 action. Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid welcome Tottenham on Tuesday, Yunus Musah hopes to steer Atalanta past Bayern Munich the same evening, and Malik Tillman’s Bayer Leverkuser face Arsenal on Wednesday. Chris Richards rounds out the European slate on Thursday when Crystal Palace meet AEK Larnaca in the Europa Conference.

With the goals flowing and knockout football ahead, the battle for the USMNT’s centre-forward role is proving as entertaining off the pitch as it is on it.