The United States Men's National Team earned a 1-1 draw with Ecuador on Friday night at Austin's Q2 Stadium, going toe-to-toe with one of the better South American sides and looking the better side for long stretches of the match.
Here at SixOneFive Soccer, we're looking at which players raised or lowered their stock with just a few windows left before the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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Stock up: Folarin Balogun
After questions about the striker position at large and Folarin Balogun's form at the international level over the last several months, the AS Monaco attacker has calmed things down with a strong performance to close the September window and one of his best in a US shirt against Ecuador.
On Friday, Balogun was constantly stretching the backline, mixing runs off the back shoulder with dropping into midfield and linking play well. He was incredibly dynamic throughout, and was fully deserving of his goal in the 71st minute.
Two goals in two USMNT games for Folarin Balogun 🫡 pic.twitter.com/71RbulEoXa
— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 11, 2025
He's firmly grabbed hold of the starting No. 9 job, and unless he's injured, it's hard to see someone else taking the role from him. His form has been a huge relief for USMNT fans.
Stock down: Aidan Morris
Perhaps it's a bit unfair to take too much from Aidan Morris's first USMNT appearance in a year, but the Middlesbrough man was up-and-down throughout the night. He wasn't afraid to put in a tackle, and won 11 duels on the night, but his passing was inconsistent and he wasn't able to progress the ball effectively.
He also struggled with positioning on several occasions. Particularly on Enner Valencia's goal, he made an ill-advised decision to step up, taking himself out of the play and allowing Valencia to isolate Chris Richards and eventually score.
Morris is playing at a high level for his club team and he's still young, but there are things he needs to clean up to be an effective contributor at this level.
Stock up: Malik Tillman
Look, Malik Tillman isn't a particularly rounded player, but he consistently manages to be effective. The newly-signed Leverkusen attacker played underneath Balogun in Mauricio Pochettino's 3-4-2-1 attacking shape, and he grew into the game, especially in the second half.
Tillman constantly picked up the ball in dangerous spots and kept possession cycling around the box, stretching Ecuador from side to side. He picked up an assist for Balogun's goal, one of the more simple passes he'll have in his career. That being said, he fully deserved the assist, and created six chances on the evening, the most of any player on the pitch.
Stock down: Weston McKennie
Back in the squad after missing the September window, Weston McKennie was thrust into a more advanced role in attack, and he struggled. Nominally playing underneath Balogun on the same line as Tillman, McKennie found himself constantly sliding deep into midfield to get on the ball. This left the frontline unbalanced, and his passing wasn't super consistent when he did manage to find the ball.
McKennie is clearly one of this squad's best players and will almost certainly be in the starting picture. This position doesn't seem like a great fit, though.
Stock up: Alex Freeman
The young Orlando City right back continues to impress. He initially came on as a replacement for Miles Robinson as a right center back, and moved forward to a wingback role later on in his shift. He was heavily involved in both spots, carrying the ball forward dangerously and constantly getting in on the action. He's defensively solid and capable of impacting the game from central areas, and equally as effective at overlapping while hugging the touchline.
He has all the physical tools you could ask for, but his intelligence and ability to adapt in-game is becoming more and more evident with every passing game. He's an incredibly impressive young player.
