3 ways Mauricio Pochettino could solve the USMNT's Balogun vs Wright headache

It is now exactly seven weeks until the United States will commence their World Cup campaign against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. With Australia and Türkiye completing the Group D line-up, every point will be precious. The task for every national team head coach is to get the best out of their star player and the conundrum facing Mauricio Pochettino is no different.

In attack, the US boast plenty of good but imperfect options, including Christian Pulisic, Malik Tillman, Gio Reyna, Ricardo Pepi, Tim Weah, Diego Luna and Brenden Aaronson. Vying for the starting centre-forward spot seemingly are Folarin Balogun and Haji Wright, so who should be first-choice, and what should Pochettino's front three be?

Option 1: Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie & Folarin Balogun

This is, probably, the US' best front three and, if we had to put money on it now, 49 days out, this is what we're forecasting Pochettino will deploy in Inglewood, California.

In the last 12 months, the United States have regularly switched to a back three, first doing so ahead of September's 2-0 victory over Japan in Columbus. When this has been the case, Weston McKennie has been pushed further forward, seemingly not trusted to be part of the double pivot alongside Tyler Adams. Pulisic's tally of 32 international goals meanwhile makes him a guaranteed starter, with Balogun the natural centre-forward to compliment this duo.

The 24 year old has scored 18 goals for Monaco this season, including five in the Champions League, on target during each of los Monégasques' last eight Ligue 1 games. The all-time French top-flight record is a goal in 11 successive matches, set by Sonny Anderson of Lyon 25 years ago.

At the international level, Balogun now has eight USMNT goals to his name, on target against Japan, Ecuador and opening night opponents Paraguay in friendlies during the second half of last year.

His ability to drop deep and link play, but also sprint in behind when required, complements McKennie and Pulisic really nicely, making this the best front three Pochettino has. However, were he to go for something else, or perhaps Balogun is not available, how could he reconfigure things?

Option 2: Tim Weah, Malik Tillman, Christian Pulisic & Haji Wright

Let's say Pochettino does something completely different. Against a Paraguay team that conceded just ten goals in 18 CONMEBOL qualifiers, he could deploy Adams and McKennie as the double pivot in a 4-2-3-1 shape, so could this be the front four?

Tim Weah could be on the right wing, running it back to 2022 qualifying under Gregg Berhalter, with Pulisic on the opposite side and Malik Tillman as a number ten, chosen over Gio Reyna. So, would this attacking trio work best with Haji Wright leading the line? Few Americans abroad have enjoyed their club campaigns more than Wright, who has scored 17 EFL Championship goals this season, the most of any US player in a single campaign in England's second-tier.

The 28 year old has been a key figure for Frank Lampard's team, firing Coventry City back into the Premier League for the first time in a quarter of a century, heading up as champions. For the national team, he has so far scored an impressive seven goals in just 20 caps. This includes one of the USMNT's best goals of all-time against the Netherlands at the last World Cup, more recently bagging a brace when the US beat Australia in Denver last October.

When deployed as a central striker, Wright likes to burst in-behind and drift out-wide, hence why alongside Pulisic, Weah and Tillman they would form a very fluid front four. With Patrick Agyemang having suffered a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury, Wright as a centre-forward has surely become more of a viable option, up against Balogun and Pepi. Having said that, he can also be utilised out-wide, so could Wright and Balogun ultimately start together?

Option 3: Haji Wright, Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun

Again, let's say Pochettino goes with a 3-4-2-1 formation with wing-backs Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest providing the width, could this work as a narrow front trio?

While Wright is certainly a centre-forward option, he can play out-wide too, most recently doing so for the US off the bench against Türkiye in Connecticut last June. The Coventry attacker could combine with Dest on the right-hand side, with Robinson bombing forward on the left, allowing Pulisic and drift inside and support Balogun more centrally. This has a nice balance to it, while Wright and Pulisic could also be the wingers in a back four shape, featuring a number ten in between.

While plenty of players in plenty of positions in Pochettino's team are written in permanent marker, there are a significant number of spots up for grabs. A lot of these are in attack, so expect Balogun and Wright to play their part this summer.