USMNT Stock Up, Stock Down: Pepi’s Prosperity, Balogun’s Shaky Ground
It’s the start of a new era for the U.S. men’s national team.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino is slated to announce his roster for the first post-World Cup international camp in the coming weeks.
Several of the summer’s brightest stars will return to the USMNT training pitch later this month; Mauricio Pochettino just needs to decide which ones. Some players have done more than others in the time apart to convince the Argentine boss that they’re worth his continued investment.
Here’s Sports Illustrated’s weekly stock up, stock down analysis for the USMNT players.
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USMNT Stock Up
Ricardo Pepi
After providing solid reinforcement at the striker position all summer, Ricardo Pepi has not missed a beat in his return to club play.
The 23-year-old has scored thrice in his last four outings for PSV Eindhoven, helping the Dutch club to four-straight league wins in that time and an undefeated start to the new Eredivisie season.
Pepi’s most recent goal came in just the fifth minute of Saturday’s match against bitter rival Ajax, setting the tone for the ultimate 3–1 victory on the road. He tracked PSV’s build up off of a counterattack, placing himself at the back post to receive a header pass from teammate Ruben van Bommel, which he redirected into the net with his own head.
Pochettino will be encouraged to see not only Pepi’s sheer goal production, but also how well he is combining with fellow USMNT star Sergiño Dest. The PSV fullback assisted Pepi’s first goal of the new campaign, a brilliant game-winner in the team’s 2–1 victory against Excelsior. Dest, 25, made an overlapping run from the right back position, before receiving a bouncing ball just inside the box. He chipped it on his first touch to Pepi, who needed just one touch to place it past the goalkeeper.
Jack McGlynn
The youngster became the latest USMNT player to make the leap across the pond, seeking to grow his game in Europe and, in turn, regain the affections of Pochettino.
The 23-year-old midfielder signed a three-year deal with Stoke City of the EFL Championship just before the transfer deadline, departing MLS’s Houston Dynamo for a reported $5.5 million fee.
McGlynn spent just one-and-a-half seasons in Houston, accumulating eight goals and 14 assists in that time as a consistent starter. He was integral to the Dynamo’s rise up the Western Conference ranks. They sit second in the table as of Tuesday behind the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Although the English second tier may not provide a drastically-different level of competition compared to MLS, it may be exactly what McGlynn needs to get back on the international radar.
McGlynn has 13 total caps for the Stars and Stripes, notching two goals and two assists in that time. He most recently competed in the Sept. 2025 international window, playing in friendlies against Japan and South Korea after his time in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup over the summer. Since then, though, he has fallen out of Pochettino’s favor and was not included in the World Cup squad.
Sebastian Berhalter and Max Arfsten were included in the World Cup roster, though, and both of them likewise made the move from MLS to the EFL Championship this summer, signing to Middlesbrough from Vancouver and Columbus Crew, respectively. Pochettino may opt to see McGlynn in the same light of those two star midfielders now.
USMNT Stock Down
Antonee Robinson
Antonee Robinson’s Fulham have had a rough start to the new Premier League season, walking away with zero points from the first three affairs under new manager Álvaro Arbeloa.
In their latest outing against Crystal Palace, Fulham created chance after chance—and even took the lead twice—but still left Craven Cottage with a 3–2 defeat on Saturday. What proved the Cottagers’ undoing was a wild press that left them exposed at times on the counterattack, a dire situation that USMNT star fullback Robinson ultimately couldn’t rectify. The 29-year-old was left simply watching from afar as Palace scored their second goal of the evening.
In the visitors’ game-winner just over 20 minutes later, Robinson was simply beaten by a dangerous run in-behind from Anan Khalaili, who darted into the box before the ball bounced to Ben Chilwell for a skillful finish. All of Fulham was booed off the pitch.
To make matters even worse for Robinson, Pochetino was actually present at Craven Cottage for the clash, accompanied by assistant coach Jesús Pérez, to observe not only Robinson, but also Crystal Palace and USMNT center back Chris Richards.
Folarin Balogun
Folarin Balogun has once again—through no fault of his own—found himself at the center of controversy.
Just months after taking center stage in a World Cup red card drama that involved acts from U.S. President Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Balogun sat at the core of the summer transfer chaos that ensued in the late hours of Deadline Day on Sept. 1. It created a domino effect that left several other clubs unsettled, including Chelsea.
The USMNT star striker planned to move to Everton this summer on a hefty deal worth $54.1 million (£40 million). It would have seen the 25-year-old Monaco player make his long-awaited return to the Premier League and rectify a rather lackluster couple of years on English soil suffered in the beginning of his career (2020–2023).
Instead, Balogun was shockingly informed that he had failed Everton’s medical exam just hours before the transfer window was set to slam shut. With minutes to spare on the ticking clock, Monaco managed to convince Everton that their No. 9 was in fact healthy enough to sign, and the two parties concluded negotiations. By that time, though, Balogun himself decided to pull out of the deal. He was the only signature missing from an otherwise done-deal, seemingly spooked by Everton’s lack of confidence in him.
Folarin Balogun Starred in Transfer Deadline Day Chaos. dark. Next. Folarin Balogun Starred in Transfer Deadline Day Chaos
So instead of making a blockbuster move to the Premier League, Balogun will remain at Monaco, a French side not entirely content with him at the moment.
The Ligue 1 team was under pressure to make one major sale on Deadline Day to balance its books and even had midfielder Lamine Camara lined up to join Chelsea when the Balogun deal looked to be falling through. Once the Balogun deal appeared to be back on the table, Monaco cut the Camara talks. Balogun pulled out of the Everton deal with five minutes to spare in the transfer window, leaving Monaco without its sale.
Balogun has yet to return to the pitch since the heartbreaking World Cup round of 16 loss in early July, likely in large part to the transfer fiasco. He was also left off of Monaco’s Conference League squad and did not travel for Friday’s league match against Paris Saint-Germain, despite rejoining group training.
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