USA vs Oman score, result, highlights as Weston McKennie cooks up inspired USMNT performance in friendly win

Kyle Bonn

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USA vs Oman score, result, highlights as Weston McKennie cooks up inspired USMNT performance in friendly win image

Gregg Berhalter admitted the United States needed an improvement over Saturday’s performance against Uzbekistan.

Experimenting with a new and unique tactical approach, Berhalter engineered exactly such a turnaround as the USMNT pummelled Oman in a 4-0 victory, overwhelming their Asian opponents in a comprehensive victory.

Berhalter deployed midfielder Weston McKennie in a very odd but brilliantly crafted role, allowing the Juventus man freedom of movement and asking him to deliver a host of deep switches of play to the right flank. Those long diagonal balls had Oman completely twisted in knots, and they couldn't cope.

If that wasn't enough, Tim Weah was electric on the ball, playing the perfect foil to McKennie's hybrid role and bringing Sergino Dest into attacking spaces as well.

Folarin Balogun scored the opening goal 13 minutes in, and holding that 1-0 lead at halftime, they raced to victory as Brenden Aaronson and Ricardo Pepi added second-half goals while Kevin Paredes set the stage for an own-goal to seal things late.

It was a stark contrast from Saturday's drab showing against Uzbekistan, as the lack of creativity in that match days prior was erased by tonight's inspired performance.

MORE: Recap the 3-0 win over Uzbekistan as early, late goals paper over drab USMNT performance

USA vs Oman final score

  Score Goal scorers
USA 4 Balogun (13'),
Aaronson (59'),
Pepi (79'),
Al Braiki (81', OG)
Oman 0 –

Starting lineups:

USA (4-3-3, right to left): 18. Horvath (GK) — 2. Dest (D. Jones, 76'), 4. Richards (McKenzie, 71'), 12. M. Robinson, 23. Lund — 8. McKennie, 6. Musah, 17. Tillman (Cremaschi, 71') — 21. Weah (Paredes, 80'), 20. Balogun (Pepi, 46'), 10. Pulisic (Aaronson, 46').

Oman (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Al Mukhaini (GK) — 10. Al Yahmadi, 6. Al Khamisi, 16. Al Raiki, 14. Al Kaabi — 11. Fawaz (Al Mushaifri, 64'), 23. Al Saadi, 2. Al Balushi — 7. Al Sabhi, 12. Al Ghassani, 8. Al Aghbari (Al Maamari, 64').

USA vs Oman live updates, highlights, commentary

FULLTIME: USA 4-0 Oman

The United States are deserved winners here, controlling play throughout the match and producing a creative performance that attacked Oman in a variety of ways.

From Weston McKennie's diagonal balls to Tim Weah's electric on-ball skills, from Ricardo Pepi's substitute jolt to a late youth show, Gregg Berhalter cooked up an attacking display that more accurately reflected the talent in this side.

While the Uzbekistan game was worrying, this game offset that with an exciting 90 minutes of action that will put fans at ease by dominating an opponent they'll have been expected to take down handily.

USA vs Oman: Second Half

88th min: Yunus Musah picks up a late yellow card for a tactical foul in midfield.

84th min: Chance, USA! Oh dear, Weston McKennie had a wide-open net and missed. Ricardo Pepi crossed to the U.S. midfielder on the cutback, but in acres of space at the penalty spot, McKennie drags his effort well wide. He holds his head in his hands, knowing he missed a big one.

81st min: GOAL! USA! The rout is on as Kevin Paredes, just onto the pitch, creates a fourth for the United States via an own-goal! The Wolfsburg man bombs forward and crosses from the right, and before it can meet Ricardo Pepi at the near post, a sliding Al Braiki turns it into his own net!

79th min: GOAL! USA! All aboard the Ricardo Pepi train! It's too easy for the United States as DeJuan Jones fires a cutback to Pepi with his back to goal at the top of the 18-yard box. He turns and shoots straight through his defender's legs, and the goalkeeper is late to react.

Pepi's four goals as a substitute this calendar year equals a USMNT record set in 2004, according to Opta.

75th min: Chance, USA! Two opportunities for the United States go begging after an incisive counter-attack! Ricardo Pepi starts it with an exceptional tackle in midfield to spring the break, and Brenden Aaronson forces Ibrahim Al Mukhaini into a good diving save!

On the rebound, it falls to Benja Cremaschi, who cuts it laterally for Sergino Dest, but the full-back fires his shot across the face of goal and wide. It's Dest's last action of the match as he's replaced by DeJuan Jones.

70th min: Gregg Berhalter is readying a few more subs, as Benja Cremaschi will enter for his USMNT debut, replacing Malik Tillman. Cremaschi, who plays alongside Lionel Messi at Inter Miami, is also eligible for international duty with Argentina, and will have a decision to make in the future.

Also entering is Mark McKenzie, who replaces Chris Richards.

65th min: There's a problem for the U.S. as Yunus Musah is down and signaling for a substitution, grimacing and playing with the top of his right foot. Replay shows it comes off a really bad tackle by Tamim Al Balushi, but it appears Musah is going to stay on for now despite initially asking for a switch.

59th min: GOAL! USA! Brenden Aaronson is clipped while meeting a through-ball from Malik Tillman, and the U.S. have a dangerous free-kick chance just outside the top of the penalty area.

Aaronson stands over the ensuing free-kick, and he deposits it into the back of the net in bumbling fashion! The ball somehow splits the wall which parts like the red sea, and the goalkeeper doesn't see it well, taking two steps in the wrong direction and unable to correct his momentum to make the stop. Comical defending, but the U.S. will take it!

53rd min: Ricardo Pepi gets his head on the end of a corner, but he pings it into the side netting. In truth, Ibrahim Al Mukhaini had his near post covered, so it would have been a tough finish from a tight angle.

49th min: Yikes, Chris Richards gets away with a very dicey tackle inside the edge of the penalty area that you'll have seen called a foul by other officials. Instead, no whistle and the ball is out for a corner.

Kickoff: Couple of changes for the United States as Gregg Berhalter looks to get a few players some extended time on the field. Ricardo Pepi comes on at halftime for the second straight match as Folarin Balogun is protected prior to joining AS Monaco, while Brenden Aaronson is brought on as well to replace Christian Pulisic.

Pulisic hands the captain's armband to Weston McKennie.

HALFTIME: USA 1-0 Oman

Football is a funny game. Last time out, the U.S. was poor through the first 45 minutes, but led 1-0 on an early Tim Weah goal. Here, the U.S. was electric, but could only find a single goal.

Still, that performance will give U.S. fans hope that Gregg Berhalter can get creative in the attack. Weston McKennie's role was fascinating, given acres of freedom to roam but tasked with pinging long diagonal balls from the left flank over to the right which troubled Oman from start to finish.

USA vs Oman: First Half

44th min: The end of the first half has been a bit of a comedown after such an energetic 35 minutes. Oman work a rare bit of attacking possession, but Chris Richards cleans it up. Down the other end, Weston McKennie skates into the penalty area but is dispossessed.

35th min: Chance, USA! Tim Weah gets free down the left on a feed from Weston McKennie, and cutting in on his right, he rifles a low effort to the near post that skates just wide! The hosts are cooking now, it's an onslaught.

33rd min: Chance, USA! A double chance for the U.S. goes begging! First, Sergino Dest is denied by the goalkeeper Ibrahim Al Mukhaini! Another big switch from Weston McKennie falls to the U.S. attack on the right, and with Dest bombing forward in typical fashion, he gets some space and has a rip, but Al Mukhaini is there to parry it away.

On the ensuing corner, Miles Robinson gets on the end of a loose ball, and Al Mukhaini makes an exceptional save to keep out the shot!

32nd min: The official misses a clear handball on an Oman defender which stops a Kristoffer Lund cross. It happened outside the penalty area, but would have been a solid set-piece chance for the U.S. at minimum, and potentially a booking as well.

27th min: Chance, USA! Sergino Dest gets on the end of a big switch to the far post, and tries to one-touch place the ball into the net, but he puts it wide across the face of goal. There may have been a hint of offside as well, but Dest knows he missed one there.

The long U.S. switches have given Oman fits through the opening half-hour.

25th min: Really good refereeing as Malik Tillman raced through the middle on the ball and was tripped up, but tried to stay on his feet. As he finally went down, he looked to play a through ball up the gut, but as it's cut out, the official pulls it back, unable to play advantage.

The Oman foul count then starts to rise further. Christian Pulisic is fouled wide left by Abdullah Fawaz, before Yunus Musah is cut down in midfield.

18th min: Tim Weah has the ball in the back of the net, but it's ruled out as he quite clearly used his arm to turn the shot in. It comes on a vicious cross from Christian Pulisic, but as Weah tries to get his head down to the ball, it hits his arm instead and loops into the net. Weah and Pulisic have a bit of a laugh about it all.

13th min: GOAL! USA! Folarin Balogun pounces on a loose ball and opens the scoring! A howitzer by Sergino Dest at the top of the penalty area is parried by the goalkeeper, but it falls right to Balogun who poaches the game's first goal.

The beginning of the move featured a pair of switches that had the Oman defense all twisted up. The first was accidental, as Tim Weah's cross went past Christian Pulisic who slipped, but Weston McKennie picked it back up and then fed it back across to Weah on the right.

10th min: The U.S. has recovered from the slow start, but has yet to produce a true chance on net. They come close here as a cross from Tim Weah nearly finds an overlapping Kristoffer Lund at the far post but it's nodded out for a corner at the last moment by a defender.

4th min: An early set-piece opportunity for Oman from a deep, central position is cleared nervously but right back to the visitors, who continue to maintain a good early spell of possession. It ends with a shot from a good opportunity by debutant Tamim Al Balushi that goes wide across the face of goal.

Kickoff: The match is underway from Allianz Field in Minnesota! The U.S. may have won last time out, but there's lots of improvements to be found up and down the field, so a better showing today will be what fans are hoping for.

Tim Weah tells the TNT broadcast pregame show that the key to that improvement is focusing on fundamentals.

USA vs Oman: Pre-match commentary, analysis, stats, and more

15 mins to kick: Tonight is a big opportunity for Malik Tillman, who gets a shot at the No. 10 after making an impact off the bench against Uzbekistan. However, there's a bigger fallout from Tillman's introduction for the injured Luca de la Torre.

It means Yunus Musah moves back to the defensive midfield spot, where he excelled this summer in Nations League play. Despite that, Gregg Berhalter made it clear he wants Musah to be played higher than the No. 6, in order to get him involved in the playmaking. Berhalter said he thinks Musah has some improvement to make recognizing opportunities in the penalty area, but that he's "close" to showing he can play the role.

Yet tonight, he is dropped deeper. An interesting choice given yesterday's comments.

30 mins to kick: Kristoffer Lund gets his second cap today, deployed from the start after coming off the bench to spell Antonee Robinson late in the Uzbekistan win. The 21-year-old Palermo left-back was born in Denmark and played for the Danish youth national team at all levels, but completed a one-time switch recently thanks to U.S. eligibility through his American mother.

50 mins to kick: For Oman, Croatian head coach Branko Ivankovic has made three changes from the win over Palestine, handing a first international cap to 23-year-old midfielder Tamim Al Balushi and bringing Zahir Al Aghbari into the forward line out wide. He's also made a change at goalkeeper, with Ibrahim Al Mukhaini in to take over for veteran Faiz Al Rushaidi

1 hour 5 mins to kick: The U.S. lineup is out, and it's almost as expected. Kristoffer Lund steps in for Antonee Robinson after the Fulham man came off late against Uzbekistan with what looked like a slight muscle problem, while Luca de la Torre is replaced in midfield after breaking his nose.

The latter change moves Yunus Musah to the defensive spot, despite Gregg Berhalter specifically indicating he wanted to have Musah as a progressive No. 8 who can get forward. With Musah moving back, Malik Tillman is deployed alongside Weston McKennie.

Tillman & Lund are both being handed their first international starts.

1 hour 15 mins to kick: Against Uzbekistan on Saturday, the United States deployed three pairs of European club teammates in the starting XI for the first time in team history. One of those pairs is Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah, who both joined AC Milan this summer.

Musah was born in New York City but spent his early years in Italy and thus speaks fluent Italian, along with fluency in English and Spanish, as well as native African languages Dagbani and Hausa. He's had to help Pulisic navigate his early days in Italy!

1 hour 30 mins to kick: When the U.S. squad is at full strength, midfield is a position of real strength. However, injuries have seriously depleted the available options. Tyler Adams is out injured, as are Gio Reyna and rising youngster Johnny Cardoso.

Luca de la Torre went down in the first half of the Uzbekistan game with a broken nose, but he appears to be soldiering on, training Monday with a protective mask over his face. It remains to be seen whether de la Torre can prove fit for the match, with 18-year-old Benja Cremaschi hoping to see the field for his USMNT debut.

1 hour 45 mins to kick: Matt Turner has really blossomed into not just a key player for the United States, but a leader as well. After the Uzbekistan match, Turner did not mince words.

"You probably saw on camera a few times—I was pretty frustrated. We can’t just stroll up to games and expect to win...If we really want to get to where we want to go, we need to have better nights than we had tonight."

Turner has departed the USMNT squad to return home for the birth of his daughter, so there's a leadership void that must be filled. With first-choice captain Tyler Adams also out injured, it's an opportunity for others to step up.

2 hours to kickoff: Gregg Berhalter indicated after the Uzbekistan game that he was most concerned with the lag time his players experienced in identifying the windows of opportunity to attack once they had successfully drawn the opponent out of their bunkered defensive structure.

"We gave the ball away in some tough spots, that was the first thing," Berhalter noted in his postgame press conference. "The second thing is when we were building and were methodical about our build trying to attract the opponent, I thought then we lacked the speeding up the attack once we broke through the front five."

He also said the United States "gave them too many opportunities" in behind after losing the ball, failing to counter-press effectively. It will be interesting to see how Berhalter makes adjustments in those departments to improve between matches.

USA vs Oman lineups & team news

Goalkeeper Matt Turner – who was named Man of the Match against Uzbekistan – has departed the squad and returned to Europe so he can be present for the birth of his daughter. In steps Drake Callender who arrives in Turner's place after taking the field for his club Inter Miami on Saturday, but Gregg Berhalter announced Ethan Horvath will start in goal.

There are also some injuries to work around. There are also some injuries to work around. Midfielder Luca de la Torre suffered a broken nose against Uzbekistan and has been replaced by Malik Tillman, which moves Yunus Musah back to the No. 6 spot. Antonee Robinson was also withdrawn in the 80th minute after suffering what appeared to be a muscle problem, so Kristoffer Lund steps in. Joe Scally has departed the team for family reasons, replaced by DeJuan Jones.

Folarin Balogun only played 45 minutes against Uzbekistan as he builds up his fitness, and he sees time again here, although goal scorer Ricardo Pepi should also get another chance to again find the back of the net off the bench.

USA starting lineup (4-3-3): Horvath (GK) — Dest, Richards, M. Robinson, Lund — McKennie, Musah, Tillman — Weah, Balogun, Pulisic.

USA subs (12): Callender (GK), A. Robinson, D. Jones, Ream, McKenzie, Tessmann, de la Torre, Cremaschi, Paredes, Aaronson, Cowell, Pepi.

Every single player on the Oman national team plays their club ball domestically in the Oman Professional League, with last year's champions Al Nahda and third-place finishers Al Seeb combining to provide 14 of the 24 players in the squad.

Oman is lead by 33-year-old defensive midfielder Harib Al Saadi who plays for Al Nahda and has collected 55 international caps through his career.

Al Nahda midfielder Abdullah Fawaz was the team's best player in last week's 2-1 win over Palestine as he shredded the opposition left flank, assisting their first goal and looking dangerous throughout the match. Al Seeb playmaker Salaah Al Yahyaei is also a threat in the creative department, already with 37 caps and six goals at the age of just 25.

Oman starting lineup (4-3-3): Al Mukhaini (GK) — Al Yahmadi, Al Khamisi, Al Braiki, Al Kaabi — Fawaz, Al Saadi, Al Balushi — Al Subhi, Al Ghassani, Al Aghbari.

Oman subs (11): Al Rushaidi (GK), Al Rawahi (GK), Dorbin, Al Habsi, Al Matrushi, M. Al Mushaifri, Al Amri, Al Hanaei, Al Mamari, A. Al Mushaifri, Al Adawi.

How to watch USA vs Oman

This international friendly between the United States and Oman will be televised in the U.S. on TNT as part of the new long-term broadcast deal with U.S. Soccer.

It will also be shown on Universo in Spanish.

Both channels are available to stream via Fubo in the United States.

MORE: Watch Premier League matches live with Fubo in USA

  TV channel Streaming
USA TNT, Universo Fubo, Peacock, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, Universo NOW

USA vs Oman betting odds & lines

The United States played poorly against Uzbekistan on Saturday and still managed to secure a 3-0 victory, leading them to be handed further strong odds to come away with victory over Oman.

Turner did well to keep Uzbekistan out of the net, but he is no longer with the squad, so either defensive improvements will be required or a new goalkeeper must step up if they are to keep another clean sheet, which is expected by the bookmakers.

  USA
win		 Draw Oman
win		 Both teams
to score Y / N		 Over / Under
3.5 goals		 USA
-1.5		 OMN
+1.5
BetMGM
(USA)		 -450 +500 +1100 +150 / -225 -135 / +100 — —
Sports
Interaction
(Canada)		 -458 +442 +1000 +129 / -204 -143 / +104 -135 +102

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.