Who says wining and dining someone to get what you want does not work?Well, at least, it did in the case of the USMNT and Monaco’s Folarin Balogun.
And after his brace in the U.S 4-1 win against Paraguay in their World Cup opening group game, the higher-ups at the US Soccer Federation will be all smiles, patting each other on the back.
After all, goalscorers are not always the easiest to find in football and in the case of the U.S men’s senior team, it had proven difficult for over a decade before making their move for Balogun just a little over three years ago.
Folarin Balogun is a product of multiculturalism. Born in the New York borough of Brooklyn to Nigerian parents, he was raised in England from the young age of just two months. His parents’ plan was for him to be born in London where they resided, but after being prevented from flying back home after a visit to New York by airline staff close to the due date, Balogun was born in the States, granting him birthright citizenship that qualifies him to play for them.
He also qualified for England and Nigeria as well, played for the English youth teams along with the U.S Under-18s. But the US Soccer Federation always knew what they wanted and put pressure.
In 2023, while starring on loan at Reims from his parent club Arsenal, US Soccer invited Balogun over to Orlando to make their case for his allegiance to the Stars and Stripes. Meetings with executives, fancy dinners and basketball court side tickets, among other things, were involved, but they got their man and in May, FIFA approved his application to represent the United States.
Goals came for Balogun, although not a constant clip. Couple of goals at the following CONCACAF Nations League and Copa America helped him put some numbers on the board. But if he was to have his big moment, it was always going to come at the home World Cup.
Selected by Mauricio Pochettino for his final squad, he came into the tournament in red hot form for Monaco, having a second half of the season and that’s every manager’s dream scenario for their star striker.
Make no mistake, yes Christian Pulisic is the star player and talisman for the USMNT, but Balogun is expected to fire in the goals to take them to unprecedented levels. The goals that will shape the view of soccer in the eyes of a generation of Americans who are more inclined to pick up American football or basketball or baseball as their sport of choice.
He has the opportunity to cement himself as an American hero and a flag bearer for the sport in the States. And he has started paying back on that promise. Two very well taken finishes (he was marginally offside for his first of the day) in the first half against the South Americans showed his decisiveness in front of goal, sparking widespread celebrations round the country.
He becomes the first American to score two goals in a World Cup game since the inaugural edition in 1930, coincidentally also against Paraguay, and in doing so led the USA to their biggest win in the tournament’s history. Let’s see how far he can lead this team.
