4 Ways USA Could Replace Suspended Star Striker Folarin Balogun vs. Belgium

After celebrating a long-awaited knockout round win at the World Cup on Wednesday night, U.S. men's national team manager Mauricio Pochettino now has a big decision staring at him: what to do at center forward.

Folarin Balogun is suspended for the upcoming round of 16 matchup on Monday against Belgium after being shown a red card in the 64th minute against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Balogun has been excellent in this World Cup, scoring two goals against Paraguay, forcing an own goal in the United States' win over Australia, and scoring again on Wednesday before being sent off.

The U.S. team will now be without its best scoring option against Belgium. Pochettino has several different ways to approach the team’s attack, but here are the options he is most likely to consider:

(Photo by Sarah Stier - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

Pochettino has used the same starting lineup and formation in the games against Paraguay and Bosnia and Herzegovina. In those two games, the U.S. has won each time while outscoring opponents 6-1. 

The most likely approach against Belgium is to swap Ricardo Pepi in for Balogun and keep the other 10 players in the same position with the same responsibilities. That option requires fewer changes and keeps players moving forward with the same assignments which have been working. 

The good news for the U.S. team is that Pepi is still a highly accomplished forward who scored 19 goals for PSV Eindhoven this season. This included a highly efficient run in the UEFA Champions League where he scored three goals and picked up an assist in just 149 minutes in the sport’s premier club competition. 

There are two concerns over this approach. First, Pepi has not played all that well for the national team under