Christian Pulisic, USMNT Impress Fans as Balogun, Zendejas Score in Win vs. Japan

USMNT supporters have been waiting a while for a night like this one.

Mauricio Pochettino's charges put together one of their more impressive performances of his tenure on Tuesday, beating Japan 2-0.

Alejandro Zendejas opened the scoring in the first half with a brilliant volley off a Max Arfsten cross, while Folarin Balogun doubled the lead in the second half after Christian Pulisic's perfectly weighted through-ball:

Both goals were beauties, and the lead was more than deserved. The United States held the advantage in possession (55.3 percent), shot attempts (19-11) and shots on goal (11-6). Japan's main edge came on corners (6-3).

It was an impressive performance against a solid Japanese side (albeit one that isn't at full strength), and USMNT supporters were more than pleased:

It would probably be kind to say that the USMNT has looked shaky in the buildup to the 2026 World Cup. While some of that may simply be that the squad isn't playing high-stakes qualifying matches, already qualified as one of the hosts, the Poch era hasn't exactly been smooth sailing, on the pitch or off.

This summer, the United States has lost friendlies against Turkey, Switzerland and South Korea and lost the Gold Cup final to Mexico. Since June, the USMNT have gone 6-4, with one of the wins coming via penalties against Costa Rica.

Expectations have always been high for this current generation of players, and supporters are still waiting for the consistent results to follow. The USMNT offered a glimpse on Tuesday, giving them something to build on ahead of friendlies vs. Ecuador and Australia in October and Paraguay and Uruguay in November.