Global Courant
LAS VEGAS –
After scoring his first goal for the United States and winning his first medal, Folarin Balogun looked to a future with a 2026 World Cup co-hosted by America.
“I’ve only been here a short time, but I already feel part of it and I feel part of something bigger,” he said.
Balogun and Chris Richards scored their first international goals, both thanks to assists from Gio Reyna, as the US defeated Canada 2-0 on Sunday night for the Americans’ second CONCACAF Nations League title in a row.
“It’s another step in the right direction,” said US captain Christian Pulisic. “It’s just about these knockout games. Come those big tournaments, Copa America, World Cup, it’s time to get tough. We have to step up and score the goals when it counts and keep them out of our goal.”
Richards scored from Reyna’s corner in the 12th minute and bounced a header from 7 yards to the left of goalkeeper Milan Borjan for his first goal in 10 international appearances.
Balogun, who made his debut in Thursday’s 3-0 win over Mexico after opting to play for the US over England, doubled their lead in the 34th when he took a feed from Reyna and stopped Scott Kennedy with his right arm to stop Borjan. pass.
“We are looking beyond the 2026 World Cup and we need to deliver in high-intensity knockout matches,” said interim coach BJ Callaghan. “We learned that from the World Cup.”
Callaghan took over on May 30 and will also lead the team in the CONCACAF Gold Cup starting next weekend. Gregg Berhalter, brought back as coach Friday 5 1/2 months after his contract expired, will not return to the sidelines until the September exhibitions.
In front of a crowd of just 35,000 at Allegiant Stadium, the U.S. extended their home undefeated run against Canada to 22 games from 1957. Canada remained untitled since the 2000 Gold Cup.
Reyna caused both goals from a central midfield role rather than from the wing Berhalter used him on, but left at half-time with a calf injury and was replaced by Luca de a Torre. Reyna’s lack of crowds in training at the World Cup and his family’s angry reaction sparked the controversy that led to Berhalter’s departure in January.
“It shows his quality on the field, his ball safety, his ability to take on two or three players and make passes,” said Callaghan. “We’ve challenged Gio to do more off-ball work on the defensive side, and he’s definitely up for the opportunity.”
Before Richards’ goal, the Americans had not scored from a corner kick since Jordan Morris’ goal in El Salvador on June 14 last year.
“I definitely know I haven’t played that much this year, but I know what I can bring,” said Richards, who had just four Premier League starts and nine appearances for Crystal Palace.
Callaghan made three changes from Thursday, putting centre-back Walker Zimmerman for Miles Robinson and midfielder Brenden Aaronson and right-back Joe Scally for Weston McKennie and Sergino Dest, both suspended after receiving red cards against El Tri.
Canadian coach John Herdman said the 6-foot-3 Zimmerman and 6-foot-2 Richards were difficult to defend.
“We’re just not in that cutthroat part of the field,” Herdman said. “We’ve talked about this post-World Cup. It’s in the boxes where Canada suffers. You don’t get time to work with the players. There’s no time. But we need this September window. We need the resources where we can actually set up camp, where I can spend six days working on the things that make the biggest difference moving forward.”
