Folarin Balogun: the new figure from the United States who rejected England and who is already thinking about the 2026 World Cup

Soccer in the United States is growing by leaps and bounds year after year with the development of the MLS which is a league that has increased its competitiveness, level of play and category of players with each passing season. All this has a central objective, which is the 2026 World Cup, where the North American country will host the tournament with Mexico and Canada. There he will seek to hold the best possible championship hand in hand with a generation that promises to be very important, led by Christian Pulisic and who will soon be able to count on Folarin Balogun in the lead for the coming years.

Balogun was considered for many years as one of Arsenal’s best youth academy projects and was seen as a powerful striker with a lot of goals. His performance in the Gunners’ youth teams allowed him to be called up to the England youth teams every chance he got despite being born in New York. When the time came for him to make the jump to the first team of the Emirates Stadium team, he did not have the necessary opportunities and was loaned to Middlesbrough to gain minutes of play for the 2021/22 season where he played 21 games with 3 goals and 3 assists.

For the current campaign he returned to Arsenal but Mikel Arteta could not promise him many playing minutes due to the arrival of Gabriel Jesús and the player decided to go on loan to Ligue 1 to wear the colors of Stade Reims. At 21 years old, the striker who stands out for his good definition and physical power, consolidated himself in the starting eleven of the French team and paid for his confidence with goals, he has already scored 20 goals with 3 assists so far this 2022/2022 season. 2. 3. His name began to be the center of rumors about a possible final transfer to Stade Reims but everything seems to indicate that Mikel Arteta will give him a chance at Arsenal for the 2023/24 season where the Gunners will have a huge number of games. thanks to participation in the UEFA Champions League.

News from the different European football leagues:

Due to his great performance, he was close to being called up to the English team but this call never came and despite the fact that he could have chosen to represent Nigeria (because of his parents), Balogun has decided to defend the colors of the United States for the rest of his career. . This represents a first-rate reinforcement for the North American team since in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar they badly needed a center forward with the qualities of a 21-year-old, so it is expected that he will fit in perfectly and be part of the team that shine in the 2026 World Cup.

Soccer in the United States is growing and the world must not stop paying attention to it.