The USMNT has a problem, a big one, at forward. It’s a problem that has been there long before Gregg Berhalter was named USMNT coach and one that continues to persist despite a long list of players who have played in that position over time. Jozy Altidore was the last big target man the team had that put the ball in the back of the net regularly with the USMNT.
While Altidore did score 42 goals for the USMNT, 0 of those goals came at a World Cup (2010 and 2014) and you need to go all the way back to Brian McBride to find a forward who scored at a World Cup and was almost an immovable piece of the USMNT’s attack. While Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan may be the countries all-time leading scorers, both players played in various aspects of the attack, including forward, and as the years moved on they played more on the wings or behind the pure striker than up top, exclusively.
During Gregg Berhalter’s era the list of forwards that have not captured the spot is eye raising, Tyler Boyd, Daryl Dike, Nicholas Gioacchini, Josh Sargent, Matthew Hoppe, Jordan Pefok, Jesús Ferreira, Ricardo Pepi, and Gyasi Zardes, nine players have tried, to little avail to become the USMNT’s go-to striker. In a program that wants to sell “depth”, you can hardly call the list above a depth chart, rather it’s more of a game of musical chairs. While Ricardo Pepi should be the team’s main target forward, the coach’s tinkering has left the forward position with a lot more questions than answers. In this article we will provide 2 answers to Gregg Berhalter’s forward woes: Jordan Pefok and Christian Ramirez.
Jordan Pefok
A no brainer it would seem, and for a long time now, Jordan Pefok has been scoring at will in the Swiss league for Young Boys, the 25-year-old has 13 goals in 19 games. While some fans may balk at the notion of the big target man for the USMNT, which includes players in Serie A, Bundesliga, and Premier League being from the Swiss league, Pefok has scored 2 Champions League goals this season and before that 3 goals in Champions League qualification.
Pefok last was with the USMNT in September in 2021, then when his form, and the coach always talks about form, shows he is the nation's best striker at the moment, Pefok was inexplicably not called in for the last two USMNT World Cup qualifying rosters. Pefok is more of a power striker who makes the most of the chances that are fed to him. When you consider the talent in the USMNT midfield, Pefok could provide that much needed scoring touch from crosses and poaching abilities.
Pefok at the moment has only 8 caps, not all starts, and 1 goal, a pivotal Concacaf Nations League goal against Honduras that sent the USMNT to the final. Berhalter likes forwards to have hold up play and Pefok may not be suitable for that as he seems to work better as a pure finisher.
Christian Ramirez
Christian Ramirez has come out of left field, but the former Dynamo scorer made a jump to Scotland with Aberdeen and has consistently put the ball in the back of the net. Ramirez has scored 9 goals in 24 outings this season and is a consistent starter for his team.
While he may not be starting lineup potential, Ramirez could be an interesting option off the bench, and he is not entirely a left field addition, Ramirez has 2 caps and 1 goal for the USMNT.
The realities are that the USMNT’s manager likes to shoot himself in the foot, with constant lineup changes and tinkering. The forward position on the USMNT is a mystery, now in a World Cup year it will be a question Berhalter needs to answer and quickly. A team without a consistent goal scorer might survive Concacaf World Cup qualification, but once at a World Cup, if all your target man brings to the table is his “good hold up play”, don’t expect the USMNT to be in Qatar that long.
