This World Cup feels like put up or shut up time for Christian Pulisic and the USMNT. Playing on their home turf, the American squad has the experience and talent to make significant noise in this tournament. Nobody is expecting a World Cup title, but a win or two in the knockout stages would be a sign of serious progress; another one-and-done in the knockouts, or (God forbid) a group-stage exit, would raise serious questions. Can “Captain America” lead his team in goal scoring and, most importantly, rack up some wins?
USMNT Top Goalscorer Odds
Let’s take a look at the best odds for the top goalscorer for the USMNT:
Pulisic leads the way at +250, but starting striker Folarin Balogun is just behind him at +275. Josh Sargent and Haji Wright are hanging close at +600 apiece, with Brendan Aaronson rounding out the top five. Ricardo Pepi and Gio Reyna, two guys who largely come off the bench, are at +1000. Then you get into a mix of non-attacking starters and deeper bench guys at +1400: Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah, Malik Tillman, and Diego Luna. After that you’re into the true long shots.
But who is the best pick out of this group?
Who will be the USMNT’s leading goalscorer? Pick, best bet
It’s difficult to find a consistent lineup for this team. Various injuries and club commitments have prevented Mauricio Pochettino from fielding a full lineup all that often. This includes Weston McKennie, the team’s star midfielder.
McKennie, 27, has 64 career caps for Team USA with 12 goals to his name. Not bad at all for a midfielder. However, McKennie has played in only four matches for the USMNT in the past two years, all of which were friendlies. But when he does suit up for Pochettino’s team, he is all over the place. As a true box-to-box midfielder, McKennie will be as involved in the goal scoring as he is in the goal prevention. On a good run of scoring form for Juventus, netting nine goals in 50 matches this season, I believe McKennie will find enough magic to lead the team in scoring for this World Cup.
