When he thinks back on that fateful trip to Orlando, Fla., Folarin Balogun talks first about the fans.
The ones in his social media comments dropping American flags on every post. The ones in his hotel and around the city telling him to come play for the U.S. men’s national team. Social media sleuths had used the background mural of an Instagram post to trace his location to Orlando, and Balogun had turned into the main character of a national team window months before he’d even decided to represent the country of his birth.
“That was motivating ’cause it shows how people say soccer’s not a big thing over here. I do think it is,” Balogun said. “There’s millions of fans. It’s just about creating the exposure to make it something more global, but there definitely is a big fanbase. I really felt that.”
In large part because he did, Balogun gave the USMNT an answer to a problem that had hung over it for years.
Four years ago, the U.S. scored just three goals in four games at the 2022 World Cup, exiting with a Round of 16 loss to the Netherlands. The U.S. started Josh Sargent at striker twice, Jesús Ferreira once and a duo of Haji Wright and Tim Weah up top.
Wright and Weah are part of the team this year, though Weah is hardly a striker. Ferreira and Sargent never looked like real options to be part of this team — their production had long since fallen off.
The position was a problem throughout the 2022 cycle. This year, it is viewed as something of a strength.
Wright, it should be said, looks more reliable now. Ricardo Pepi, one of the last cuts from the 2022 team, is coming off a breakout year at PSV Eindhoven and is a much-improved player. But so much of the reason the U.S. can feel comfortable about the position is down to Balogun.
The 24-year-old, who plies his trade at Monaco in France’s Ligue 1, is the sort of player the national team has wanted — needed — for years: a pure No. 9 who knows how to float into space, run in behind defenders and finish at a high level.
Thirteen players on this USMNT played at the last World Cup, and many of them — Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Sergiño Dest, Weah — are part of the so-called golden generation that’s been pegged for success in 2026 for the better part of this decade.
Balogun was the missing piece.
“He knows how to find the back of the net,” Adams said. “That’s important, but I think it’s his versatility. He’s a smaller forward, but his ability to run in behind the back line and stretch back lines is a huge threat for any team. But also his ability to hold up the ball. He’s a strong player, his link-up play is really, really good, so we know he’ll be an important player for us.”
Born in Brooklyn and raised in London, Balogun represented both England and the U.S. in youth national team competitions, though he had far more caps for England. He also had the option to represent Nigeria’s national team because his parents are from the West African nation.
The recruitment process had been ongoing behind the scenes for some time, but kicked into high gear in March 2023 after Balogun was called into England’s Under-21 squad instead of its senior national side. After a cryptic Instagram post and Balogun pulling out five days later from the squad, citing injury, it emerged that he was in Orlando on what amounted to a recruiting visit with the USMNT holding camp there.
Balogun showed up at a Knicks-Magic game and at Yankees spring training. He was wined and dined. He was, in short, made to feel wanted. England, with a plethora of strikers that left Balogun far down the pecking order, just couldn’t offer him that. At least not in the same way.
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“It was the first time meeting Wes, CP. A lot of the boys were there,” Balogun said. “I think Weston’s character, just intense. It was cool. They made me feel welcome.”
Having played for Arsenal’s academy in London and gone on loan at Middlesbrough, Balogun had been recognized on the street before in the U.K. “U.S.,” he said, “is obviously on a much bigger scale.”
Two months after the Orlando trip, he made it official, completing paperwork that allowed for a one-time switch from England to the U.S. A month after that, he was capped and scored in a pair of Nations League games.
While it would be an oversimplification to say he’s been penciled in for a spot at this World Cup since then — the USMNT was coached by B.J. Callaghan, Gregg Berhalter and Mikey Varas, two of those in an interim capacity, before landing on Mauricio Pochettino, for starters — that was, of course, the reason why all those fans in Orlando wanted him to come.
“I made the decision to play for the U.S., the World Cup was a big motivating factor,” Balogun said. “And three or four years down the line, now we’re here and preparing for it. I’m definitely excited. It’s a bit of a full-circle moment.”