The run-up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup is now in its last phase, and to Folarin Balogun, the road of the Hale End academy star to USMNT starting striker has been straight and hard. A decision that altered two federations and the entire career of a player will be the payoff of the decision that will happen on June 12 at the SoFi Stadium when they play Paraguay.
The opening that Balogun will play against Paraguay will be more than a group stage match. It will be the redemption of a move that caused ripples in the US and English soccer fraternity. This tournament means legacy to Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie. To Balogun, it is a matter of showing that the bet he had on himself, of walking away, of walking away, of England, of Arsenal, was correct.
The following is the three-part narrative of how a London-born Nigerian-born American passport-holding striker who started as a prodigy of Hale End became the opening face of a home World Cup.
Part I: The Hale End Prodigy Who Proved too big to sit
Balogun had been in the academy of Arsenal since he was 10 years old and was a very successful graduate of Hale End. The club tried its best to retain him, and in 2021 signed him to a major professional contract. The academy did not reject him–he was a success story who had merely grown too big to be kept on the bench.
Being the first to leave the bench and winning a few minutes are two different things. First-team opportunities were few behind Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah in the system of Mikel Arteta. The 2022-23 season witnessed Balogun being transferred on loan to Reims in France, not due to Arsenal’s desire to dispose of him, but to ensure that he played.
The loan at Reims busted him. He made it on the radar with 21 goals in 37 Ligue 1 outings. However, the circumstances were different; he was scoring in a league where he was yet to build his profile, in a club that could not challenge Europe, yet Arsenal went on a title charge in his absence. The mental strain of observing it on television, over the ocean, as the club of his heart took trophies, was a reality.
England twice capped him as a U-21 player, but the depth chart of senior strikers overseen by Gareth Southgate had Harry Kane at the top, followed by daylight. Balogun did not overhear the discussion. The silence of the FA was conclusive to a player who had just lit up France.
Part II: The Switch and the Monaco Move
Balogun applied to switch to the USMNT in May 2023. He was eligible due to his father being a Nigerian-American, born in Brooklyn. Gregg Berhalter suggested instant minutes and starring at a home World Cup. Balogun made his debut that summer, against Canada in the Nations League, and sealed his position.
Monaco made a payment to Arsenal in August 2023 of €40 million (including a substantial sell-on clause) to win his signature. Familiarity in Ligue 1 came in handy, though; the true worth was in tactics. In Monaco, Balogun plays with manager Adi Huttler, and there, he has perfected his hold-up play against the top center-backs. The urgency of the work rate that Mauricio Pochettino would have of his No. 9 in the USMNT has been inspired into Balogun at the national team stage, rather than at Monaco. The impact of Pochettino on Balogun in terms of the intensity of his defensive is the result of the USMNT training camps and matches, rather than the training at the club.
Part III: The Germany Test and the Paraguay Opener
The striker pecking order of Pochettino is in place with the 26-man roster freeze looming. The proven No. 9 is Balogun. Haji Wright and Ricardo Pepi are vying for the backup position.
Balogun has a final dress rehearsal for the Germany friendly on June 6 at Soldier Field. His skills to hold the ball and make them connect with Pulisic and Tim Weah will be a test against an organized German backline. Should he not emerge the better in that battle, Pepi could serve as a willing substitute to Pachetti at PSV.
But there is more than a single match. This is about legacy. Balogun gambled on himself as the more prudent strategy would be to wait until England came or buy Arsenal a few minutes. It has been four years, and the USMNT heads to Los Angeles on June 7 after the 48 qualifying matches.
To Balogun, the last exam is not in Germany at Soldier Field. It is the 90 minutes vs. Paraguay in SoFi Stadium. It is establishing how that Hale End prodigy who had grown beyond the Arsenal bench was now the one who bore the hopes of a nation at a home World Cup. The grass awaits.
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