After wining and dining Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun on a whirlwind tour through the heart of American culture a few months ago — a dog-themed outdoor pub, spring training baseball and an Orlando Magic basketball game — the United States men’s national team finally got its man.
On Tuesday, FIFA approved the one-time switch for the 21-year-old striker to represent the United States after playing for England at youth level. And we’ll leave it to former William & Mary winger Jon Stewart
Balogunnnnnnnnnnnn!!!!! #USMNT
— Jon Stewart (@jonstewart) May 16, 2023
With 19 goals on loan at Reims in Ligue 1 this season, Balogun certainly feels like a massive get — especially for a national team that hasn’t had consistent striker production since the days of, I don’t know, Billy Gonsalves? At the same time, we’ve seen plenty of other dual-national commits fizzle out for the U.S.: Aron Johannsson, Timmy Chandler, Edgar Castillo, Jose Torres, Julian Green and so on.
Balogun is better than all of them — and he might even be better than Stewart realizes, too.
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