Pulisic-Ream-who else? Analysis of the US penalty kickers at the 2026 World Cup.

If the United States national team were to decide the outcome of the 2026 World Cup in a penalty shootout in the knockout round, That will be a new experience for many of the team's players. And it was hard to predict who would take over when the teams were tied after 120 minutes. The top players expected to be chosen are: 1. Christian Pulisic (Forward) — The obvious choice given his experience taking penalty kicks for both club and country: he scored 12 of his 14 first-team goals as individual penalty kicks. 2. Ricardo Pepi (Forward) — Scoring striker. Has experience in penalty killing with the club 3. Folarin Balogun (Forward) — Another striker who is a skilled finisher and has experience taking on duties at the club. 4. Anthony Robinson (Defender) - Currently active in Fulham's penalty shootout circuit after scoring late in the 2025-26 Premier League season with Wolverhampton. Haji Wright is another interesting name as he has scored five penalties in the league with Coventry, but the problem is if Balogun Pulisic and Pepi are on the field at the same time. The chance of Wright being on the field during the penalty shootout may not be high. Tim Ream and Chris Richards are likely to be on the field if healthy. Both have top-flight experience but don't have a great penalty kill record: Ream's only penalty shot for Fulham in March 2017 was saved, while Richards scored in a Carabao Cup match for Crystal Palace. Alternate options still worth considering include Tyler Adams, Malik Tillman, Weston McKennie, Sergino Dest, Alex Freeman and Gio Reyna all still able to take over. But players with experience and confidence in penalties are often preferred: Freeman, Tillman and Adams all scored in last summer's Gold Cup penalty shootout win over Costa Rica. (Tillman also made a mistake in game time.) Reyna also scored a penalty for a Bundesliga club in 2022-23 while playing for Borussia Dortmund. Finally, the goalkeeper's role is no less important. Matt Frees and Matt Turner both have experience saving penalties at club level. And it was Frees who made three saves after the United States beat Costa Rica in a penalty shootout last year. Freese said after the game: “The penalty is my business.” Penalty shootouts are besides technical matters. It is also a test of the player's composure and confidence. And it's not a time when coaches make sudden changes to goalkeepers — so players who are calm and pass high-pressure situations will always carry more weight in the shooting order. --- ## Related Articles 1. [Mundial 2026](https://azkalsgoal.com/fil/news/usmnt-umani-ng-kasaysayan-sa-24-milyon-na-manonood-sa-tagumpay-kontra-bosnia-sa-world-cup-2026) 2. [Ao tai World Cup 2026](https://banthangvn.com/vi/news/iem-nhan-tran-au-tay-ban-nha-vs-ao-tai-world-cup-2026)