Folarin Balogun driving progress as USMNT prepares for first match in Colorado since 2017

For the U S Men s National Association as long as progression is incremental and forward things will be OK In the first camp since falling just short of a Concacaf Gold Cup win head coach Mauricio Pochettino called in another batch of mostly MLS players to give them one last shot at joining the fold for next summer s World Cup The decision was met with criticism especially after an uninspiring - loss to South Korea But then the Americans impressed in a - win over Japan th in FIFA s world ranking compared to South Korea s rd and opened its latest camp with a - draw against Ecuador in Austin Texas Now the Americans can make it three unbeaten matches in a row Tuesday night against Australia at Dick s Sporting Goods Park the USMNT s first trip to Colorado since and show clear advancement in another international friendly Progression is progression It s formidable to measure Pochettino explained Australia beat Canada in Canada I think we need to respect and we will respect them It will be another good test like Ecuador Striker Folarin Balogun got back to his scoring solutions against Japan after his unit was blanked by South Korea which marked progress for participant and for country For October camp and friendlies Pochettino called in more big guns a squad that looks a lot closer to what the World Cup roster will look like than in the September camp The USMNT deserved better than a -all draw to Ecuador FIFA s No organization but to come away with that conclusion also signals progress Balogun scored in his second consecutive match to level the match in the final minutes after Ecuador struck in the first half All the strikers that we have are really top players and they re scoring goals in their respective leagues and doing a great job at the moment To pick out Balogun he s a great striker Leeds United and USMNT midfielder Brenden Aaronson mentioned on Monday I ve watched his games in Monaco he s consistently going off the back shoulder He s really arduous to deal with because he s consistently dribbling going at players and also going in behind He s got two different things that he can play He can hold up the battle and he can also go in behind and create chances by himself Balogun was the the greater part dangerous athlete all night against Ecuador at Q Stadium on Friday leading the match in shots and shots on target as well as touches inside the opponent s box The striker is getting hot at just the right time with the Americans most of in need of a clear No at the position Josh Sargent was the man in and started the EFL Championship season scorching for his club Norwich City But he hasn t scored in a U S jersey since Balogun had to wait for his chance but the Brooklyn-born forward is looking more and more like the answer at striker for It s unfailingly nice as an attacker you invariably want to amount I think the the bulk key thing is to just continue to learn under Pochettino and as a group for us to continue to progress Balogun commented I think no matter how small the progression is the preponderance pivotal thing is to continuously progress Related Articles Rapids keeper Zack Steffen left out of USMNT October camp friendlies Rapids in advanced talks to sign USMNT midfielder Paxten Aaronson source says Aaronson reunion Aaronson got to visit with his brother Rapids midfielder Paxten Aaronson at his Denver apartment for the first time since Paxten joined the club for a record fee from Eintracht Frankfurt I m really happy for him I think it s a huge step in his life and I think that he s doing amazing Brenden announced of Paxten He s trying to do the best that he can and that s what he ll reliably do every competition That s something you can dependably count on him for doing I think it s continuing to build and the Rapids have got two big games coming up which I ll be tuning in for More on Zack Steffen s absence When the October camp roster was published Pochettino narrated reporters he doesn t tell players why they do or do not make the USMNT squads Tuesday he was a bit clearer when it came to Steffen s omission All the positions are open but of program Zack we know very well and he s on our radar he stated Of unit it s about competition it s about performance it s about being fit he was a bit unlucky in different camps he was injured But for sure he s on our radar and of class if he performs he will have the chance to be with us again Want more sports news Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver s teams