SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The U.S. men’s national team will prepare this week for a round of 16 World Cup knockout round match against Belgium without Folarin Balogun, their star forward and leading scorer.Balogun, after giving the U.S. a decisive lead against Bosnia & Herzegovina, was given a red card after a video review showed that he’d stomped on the ankle of Bosnia’s Tarik Muharemovic while challenging for a ball.Much of the best attacking moments at this World Cup for the USMNT have been created through Balogun, either scoring or contributing in the buildups. His finishing, movement, hold up play and physicality will be sorely missed.Mauricio Pochettino and his staff will sort through their best options to replace Balogun, but in the immediate aftermath of the win over Bosnia, he didn’t reveal much of his thinking.“We’ll have different options, we’ll see which decision we’ll take,” Pochettino said.Here are some of the possible solutions he can consider.Ricardo Pepi has had to wait for opportunities at this tournament. (John Todd / ISI Photos via Getty Images)Ricardo PepiA start for Pepi is the most likely solution for the USMNT. He is not an exact, like-for-like replacement for Balogun, as the players have different strengths. But it is the most seamless change within the system. It is also the option Pochettino has seemed to prefer when he has been forced into changes.Pepi started in place of an injured Christian Pulisic in the team’s 2-0 win over Australia in the group stage, then retained his starting place in the final group stage game against Turkey with most of the starting lineup rotated for their final group game.