The United States Men’s National Team have started to turn their attention to the future, but the 2026 World Cup continues. For fans, even though we’re a few days removed from the Round of 16 loss to Belgium, we can look back at some of the great moments and performances the USMNT gave us during their tournament run.
At the end of every World Cup, FIFA issues several awards for best player, the player with the highest goal total to the young player who performed the best during the tournament. We’ll
do our own version later on, but for our USMNT, it’s something we can do now.
So, we have seven Stars & Stripes FC World Cup awards: Golden Ball (best player), Silver Ball (2nd best player), Bronze Ball (3rd best player), Golden Boot (most goals), Golden Glove (best goalkeeper), Young Player (best player aged 21 or younger), and the Goal of the Tournament for best goal. Let’s hand these out for the best USMNT performances of the 2026 World Cup.
SSFC Golden Ball – Folarin Balogun
This was a pretty easy decision. Folarin Balogun was the biggest start of the team during this tournament, from his opening match brace against Paraguay (the first USMNT player to have a World Cup brace since Bert Patenaude did it in 1930…also against Paraguay) to “assisting” on the USMNT’s first goal against Australia by forcing a own goal, to his goal against Bosnia & Herzegovina that gave the USMNT the lead in the Round of 32. Sure, he got the red card and the controversy that swirled around his reinstatement for the Round of 16 had everyone choosing sides. But one thing that Balogun always showed was class and respect for his opponents and officials. If any player’s stature elevated into the stratosphere on this team, it was Folarin Balogun’s. And he thrilled us with his goals and his overall play made him indispensable.
SSFC Silver Ball – Malik Tillman
Malik Tillman arguably had just as great a tournament as Balogun in some ways. His legacy left on this World Cup will be the set pieces he put into the back of the net against Bosnia & Herzegovina and Belgium, but his performance included more than that. He was a monster on the field, seemingly everywhere on both ends of the field. He played tough on defense, and he made a lot happen offensively to set up scoring opportunities. Most fans entered the World Cup thinking that Tillman had a chance to do something on the field to positively affect the team. Now, we’re all thinking how great he was and how he needs to be a mainstay in the lineup moving forward.
SSFC Bronze Ball – Chris Richards
We missed Chris Richards four years ago in Qatar. We missed Chris Richards in the build up to the World Cup, where an injured ankle was a serious cause for concern over whether he would be fit enough to play. Well, he got back to match fitness, and him being in the lineup was so crucial for our defense. He had a historic performance against Paraguay, where he completed all 83 of his passes for the highest number of completed passes with a 100% rate by any player in a World Cup since 1966. He continued to be great thoughout the majority of the USMNT’s run, the centerback we knew he could be for us in a major tournament. He didn’t have his best outing against Belgium, but he was easily one of the best in a USMNT jersey over the past month.
SSFC Golden Boot – Folarin Balogun
Balogun finishes with three goals at the 2026 World Cup, and he earns the SSFC Golden Boot award. He finishes just ahead of Malik Tillman, who had two goals. There were also two own goals towards the USMNT total.
SSFC Golden Glove – Matt Freese
Matt Freese did not have a great match against Belgium, but he did have two clean sheets during the USMNT’s run. Matt Turner got the start against Türkiye, but allowed three goals in that match. Freese’s clean sheets are the difference in earning the Golden Glove award.
SSFC Young Player Award – Alex Freeman
The Young Player Award is handed to the best player in the tournament who is 21 years of age or younger. There is only one player on the USMNT who fits that criteria: defender Alex Freeman. However, he didn’t earn it just by default. He had a breakout tournament, capped by his goal against Australia that was initially ruled offside before VAR correctly reversed the onfield decision and awarded him the goal. He really stepped up for most of the tournament on the back line, and he played well enough to earn the award on merit.
SSFC Goal of the Tournament – Folarin Balogun’s 2nd goal vs. Paraguay; Tillman’s free kick vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina
This might have been the most difficult choice. Malik Tillman’s free kick against Bosnia & Herzegovina will go down as an all-time moment in the program’s World Cup history. However, one goal in the opening match will be forever remembered as one of the greatest goals in USMNT history. Folarin Balogun’s second goal against Paraguay was a thing of absolute magic, from him outmuscling his defender, juking another one, and finishing in the upper left corner had everyone from LA to Boston, from Anchorage to Key West, entering a state of bedlam.
That moment was poetry. It was incredible. It had people screaming at the top of their lungs, “Is this real life?!” For a moment, we looked reality in the face and dreamed that this team was destined for greatness. Balogun gave that to us, and thankfully it’s a moment we can relive over and over again for the rest of our lives.
Honorable mention: Malik Tillman’s free kick goal against Bosnia & Herzegovina
