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The path to land the striker on which this U.S. men’s national team will entrust its World Cup goal-scoring hopes — and the player captain Tim Ream called “the most annoying striker for me to have to deal with in training” — started in March 2023 with American flag emojis and online sleuthing.
Beginning with Friday’s World Cup opener against Paraguay, Folarin Balogun will be one of the USMNT’s most important contributors and perhaps the team’s breakout player of the tournament.
His presence in a United States kit at this World Cup, though, may be due to the type of online recruiting push normally seen in major college sports.
The Brooklyn-born, London-raised Balogun began exploring his American heritage on the soccer field a few years earlier, when he suited up for the U.S. under-18 national team. But as he saw his star begin to rise with a breakout 2022-23 season while on loan from England’s Arsenal to France’s Reims, his international commitment became a more sought-after commodity.
The 5-foot-10, shifty, powerful and savvy forward was eligible to play for the States, but was also a part of England’s youth setup and was on the fringes of their senior team with the under-21s. He was also eligible to represent Nigeria through his parents. The U.S., though, had begun to woo the striker to fill what was, at the time, a gaping hole in the player pool: a top-level No. 9.
During the March 2023 international window, Balogun flew to Orlando to train after withdrawing from a call-up with the England Under-21s. The U.S. squad was also — coincidentally, or not — based in the Orlando area at that time. With interim manager Anthony Hudson running the team, the Americans reached out to Balogun to see if he might be willing to meet in Florida. It was meant to be a bit cloak-and-dagger; a chance for the team to recruit Balogun, but it would not stay quiet for long.
Balogun posted a photo of himself with his friends in front of a car during his trip. In the background across the street, a sign was painted on a wall in which the words “Here To Chase Tail” were visible. A U.S. fan posted the photo and zoomed in on the words painted on the wall. He identified a now-closed Orlando business called Pups Pub and alerted fellow supporters that Balogun was in Orlando.
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When USMNT fans learned of the recruitment, they joined in on the efforts. It was not subtle. They began spamming Balogun’s Instagram account with American flag emojis, urging the striker to pick the U.S. over England or Nigeria. For anyone with knowledge of college football recruitment, this was five-star, all-hands-from-the-message-boards-on-deck type of treatment.
The message is clear from @AO_ORL. Join us @balogun pic.twitter.com/JQVQf3BgJL
— AO (@AmericanOutlaws) March 27, 2023
“I just remember (an) immense amount of appreciation from the fans,” Balogun said. “I didn’t realize at that moment how big football-soccer was out here in America. To really feel that in full force was something that was inspirational for me. It made my decision easier.”
Balogun went to the team hotel and met with Hudson. He was wined and dined — literally. The striker went out to dinner with star winger Christian Pulisic, midfielder Weston McKennie, former Arsenal youth teammate Yunus Musah, Ream and then Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner. Florida-based professional teams in other sports even reached out to U.S. Soccer to see how they might help. The New York Yankees invited Balogun to a spring-training game in Tampa. The Orlando Magic arranged courtside seats for him and his camp.
A player who only weeks before was unknown to most American fans was now at the center of the USMNT universe.
Two months later, a hastily-organized Zoom meeting was arranged between Balogun’s camp and U.S. Soccer. It was ostensibly to negotiate with the forward about including him in a preliminary roster before he committed to any senior international program. Instead, Balogun’s agent broke some news to U.S. Soccer officials.
“Unfortunately…” he started, letting the word hang in the air.
“…you’re stuck with us.”
So proud to be apart of this! It has been a long journey to reach this point but it is with great Pride I can now represent these colours at the highest level.
I am tied-in and fully committed! 🇺🇸🦅
See you in June! pic.twitter.com/Pj7GAPz8ke— Balogun (@balogun) May 17, 2023
Balogun said he “just went with my heart” when picking the United States. His commitment was celebrated as somewhat of a coup for the Americans. Then 21, the striker’s trajectory looked incredibly encouraging. He would end that season with 21 goals in Ligue 1. England was still keen on keeping him in the program. Instead, he would suit up in the stars and stripes.
It was a whirlwind, all-out, maybe-a-bit-overboard recruitment — but it worked.
One year later, cameras for the HBO documentary “U.S. Against the World” caught McKennie ribbing Balogun ahead of his first major tournament for the Americans: the 2024 Copa América. First, McKennie, one of the team jokesters, played “God Save the Queen” when Balogun won a game of table tennis. Then, on the training field, he chirped the team’s new star striker.
“You gonna tap in this Copa? You gonna be dialed in?” McKennie asked, playfully. “I hope. Didn’t do all that buttering up in f—ing Orlando to have you not score. Buttering up. Oh yeah. ‘Take him to dinner!’”
McKennie should keep on talking trash, because so far that dinner in Orlando was worth it.
Balogun first scored in a final for the U.S., a 2-0 win against Canada in the 2023 Concacaf Nations League, and then continued his effectiveness in the Copa. That tournament overall may have been a massive disappointment for the U.S., but Balogun showed his value. He scored twice in three games, including a beautiful goal after the team went down a man against Panama that might have saved the Americans if they hadn’t let the game slip away late.
He had three more goals in 318 minutes in 2025 — one of which was a game-winner against Paraguay — and another in a friendly win against Senegal at the end of last month, upping his total to nine goals with four assists in just 27 appearances with the USMNT.
He has been a difference-maker, and brings dynamism to the attack.
What stands out is “just how sharp he is, his movements, left, right, being able to hold the ball up and bring other players in,” Ream said this week. “And then his movement in behind (the opposing defense). Just being in positions and getting himself into goal-scoring positions is just something we’ve been crying out for for a long time with the team and the group. He brings that.
“He’s the most annoying striker for me to have to deal with in training, because he is so quick with his movements; physically strong and able to seemingly glide past people.”
Folarin Balogun scored the winner vs. Paraguay last November; is a World Cup goal against the South American side in the cards for Friday? (Kyle Ross / Imagn Images)
Now, Balogun will be asked to produce at a similar clip on the game’s biggest stage. And to make life hell for other teams’ center backs.
Balogun enters the tournament in fantastic form. He has 12 goals in his last 18 appearances for club and country, and scored 19 goals across all competitions with Monaco this season — at one point scoring in eight straight Ligue 1 matches. That goal-scoring prowess at the end of the year has earned some transfer buzz about whether a Premier League move could come after the World Cup.
For now, the striker said he’s focused on ensuring the decision he made three years ago pays off in the biggest possible way.
“I’m extremely proud,” Balogun said. “I feel like my individual journey is a bit full-circle now, approaching the World Cup, especially with the World Cup being here (co-hosted by the U.S.), the opportunity to represent my nation in front of a home crowd is going to be special for me, for my family, for my friends and for the team. So I’m definitely looking forward to it and very proud.”
