While it took a bit for the United States men's national team to get things going against Oman, they breezed past the opposition in a 4-0 win in Minnesota on Tuesday night. Folarin Balogun opened the scoring before Brenden Aaronson scored a direct free kick after the half. Ricardo Pepi scored his sixth goal in his last five appearances and then Kevin Paredes capped things off by forcing Oman into an own goal.
The first half had the same result as the Uzbekistan friendly, but the difference was that the USMNT were in control. From Weston McKennie pinging passes from deep to Malik Tillman and also looking good in an advanced role, the team did exactly what they should versus a lesser side. They increased the pressure in the second half as Berhalerr introduced Benjamin Cremaschi for his national team debut, as the 18-year-old striker has had quite a few months to remember.
From big contributions to Inter Miami at the Leagues Cup and becoming teammates with Lionel Messi, Creamaschi has received his first national team cap. Eligible to represent Argentina, his future is up in the air, but this is a promising start. Kris Lund also got his full debut and was consistently the furthest man forward down the left flank. A real backup for Antonee Robinson is something that the team has been searching for, and Lund has the potential to provide that security.
As always, there is room for improvement as the USMNT should've finished more of their chances in the first half, but when a team scores four goals, it's a good game.
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