Balogun scores twice as U.S. opens World Cup with Paraguay win

Folarin Balogun turned the United States’ World Cup opener into a statement about roster building, not just scoring. His two goals in the 4-1 win over Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, gave the U.S. men a breakthrough performance from a player who chose the Americans over England and Nigeria, and it underscored how much a single dual-national decision can reshape a national team.

Balogun’s path to this moment began in Brooklyn, where he was born on July 3, 2001, while his parents were visiting family. His family moved back to London soon after, and he came through Arsenal’s academy after playing youth soccer there. He represented England at the U-17 and U-21 levels before changing course in 2023, when FIFA approved his one-time switch of association on May 16 and U.S. Soccer said he was eligible for England, Nigeria and the United States. He was expected to join the U.S. team for a Concacaf Nations League semifinal against Mexico in Las Vegas on June 15, 2023, a first step in a decision that has now paid off on the sport’s biggest stage.

The case for recruiting Balogun was built on production, and the numbers were hard to ignore. He scored 19 goals in 34 Ligue 1 matches for Stade de Reims in the 2022-23 season, a total that made him one of the most coveted dual nationals in the U.S. pool. Three years later, he delivered the kind of return U.S. Soccer had in mind: a brace in a World Cup match, the first by a U.S. men’s player since the inaugural 1930 tournament. In a competition where margins are thin, that kind of finishing changes the ceiling of a team.

The broader significance reaches beyond one night in Inglewood. Christian Pulisic called Balogun “lethal” and said the team was lucky to have him, a rare public endorsement of the federation’s recruitment strategy from one of its established stars. Balogun said the night felt like a “dreamy night,” and his words carried a larger message for other eligible players weighing the United States against traditional powers: the U.S. can offer a direct route to the World Cup stage, and now a clear path to becoming the difference in it.