{"id":33183,"date":"2025-09-10T10:07:47","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T14:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/sin-categoria\/zendejas-shines-and-rescues-usmnt-a-place-in-the-world-cup-secured\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T10:07:47","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T14:07:47","slug":"zendejas-shines-and-rescues-usmnt-a-place-in-the-world-cup-secured","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/soccer\/zendejas-shines-and-rescues-usmnt-a-place-in-the-world-cup-secured\/","title":{"rendered":"Zendejas Shines and Rescues USMNT: A Place in the World Cup Secured?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zendejas and Balogun Shine in the United States Victory Against Japan<\/h2>\n\nIn the post-match environment, Alejandro Zendejas, after his outstanding performance, showed composure in describing the 2-0 victory of the US national team over Japan. Sharing the field with Christian Pulisic, he recalled his beginnings in the under-17 camp and scored the crucial first goal. His performance could propel him towards the call-up for the World Cup.\n\n\n

“This is God’s time. I am grateful for everything that is happening. I will continue working to have more opportunities,” declared Zendejas.<\/p>\nAlejandro Zendejas<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\nZendejas, who seemed to be in the background for the selection, has proven his worth with Club Am\u00e9rica in the Liga MX. His energy and skill had already been seen in previous matches, but now, under Pochettino’s direction, his potential has been revalued.\n\nPulisic praised his teammate, highlighting his technique and ability to make a difference on the field.\n\n\n

“He’s a very technical player, clean with the ball and brings something different… He has a direct style, is fast and finds final passes, so I think he does a lot of things well,” Pulisic said.<\/p>\nChristian Pulisic<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\nZendejas’ goal, a precise shot after a cross, was key for the team. Pochettino, seeing his performance, acknowledged his impact in the competition for a place in the World Cup.\n\n\n

“With these types of performances, he is in the running for the World Cup squad,” said Pochettino.<\/p>\nMauricio Pochettino<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\nFolarin Balogun also left his mark, scoring the second goal. Balogun, after overcoming an injury, proved his worth as a starting striker. His mobility and ability to destabilize the Japanese defense were highlighted by Tim Ream.\n\n\n

“Even before his goal, Balogun made many good runs, many well-timed runs, being able to get in behind when the pressure comes to the midfielders and defenders when we have the ball,” Ream stated.<\/p>\nTim Ream<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\nThe victory, achieved against a Japanese team with changes in its lineup, injects confidence into the American team. The match also showed a new formation with three central defenders, which the team seems to have mastered quickly. The next international challenge is in a month, and Pochettino has indicated that the time for experimentation is coming to an end, intensifying the competition for a place in the team.\n\n\n

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Imagen: La actuaci\u00f3n de Alejandro Zendejas ha generado optimismo en el campamento de la USMNT.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Zendejas and Balogun Shine in the United States Victory Against Japan In the post-match environment, Alejandro Zendejas, after his outstanding performance, showed composure in describing the 2-0 victory of the US national team over Japan. Sharing the field with Christian Pulisic, he recalled his beginnings in the under-17 camp and scored the crucial first goal. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[8535,2781,2075,522],"class_list":{"0":"post-33183","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-alejandro-zendejas","9":"tag-christian-pulisic","10":"tag-usmnt","11":"tag-world-cup"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33183"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33183\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alofokedeportes.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}