Folarin Balogun scored twice as the United States beat Paraguay on Friday night to become the first USMNT player to net a brace at a World Cup since 1930, a milestone thatreminds one of what Nigeria never had, Footynaija.com reports.
The Monaco striker was born in Brooklyn to Nigerian parents but moved to London before he was two months old, growing up through the Arsenal academy and representing both England and the United States at youth level before committing to the USMNT in May 2023.
Nigeria were an option throughout, but the decision was never particularly close.
Nigeria had Victor Osimhen leading the line, meaning Balogun would have entered an equally competitive situation. The United States, on the other hand, had Josh Sargent and Haji Wright as their primary options, offering Balogun a far clearer route to regular minutes under Gregg Berhalter and later Mauricio Pochettino.
His mother Florence had seen this coming long before her son did.
“I don’t believe things happened by luck,” she told ESPN.
“Even when he wasn’t even thinking of making an international decision, I’d already made up my mind that he is going to play for America.”
When Balogun finally told her, her response was immediate.
“She said, ‘What took you so long?’” he recalled.
After Friday’s performance, the choice looks unmistakably correct.
“I just want to continue to show the fans I made the right decision,” Balogun said after the Paraguay win.
Since committing to the US, he has scored 11 goals in 28 appearances, with Friday’s brace the clearest proof yet that the decision has paid off for everyone involved except, perhaps, Nigeria.
