Folarin Balogun, who was born in Brooklyn but moved to London at a young age, made his World Cup debut for the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) on Friday. He scored two goals in the team’s 4-1 win over Paraguay, solidifying his decision to play for the US over England.

Balogun’s Decision to Play for the US

Balogun, a dual citizen of the US and the UK, played for England’s national youth teams before deciding to join the USMNT in 2023. He cited the love and support of US fans as a major factor in his decision.

On Friday, Balogun extended the US lead to 2-0 with a beautiful one-timer in the bottom right of the net from a Christian Pulisic pass. He then scored his second goal of the game, juking one defender and side-stepping another before drilling a shot past the goalkeeper to push the US lead to 3-0.

Team Effort

While Balogun was the star of the show, the USMNT’s win was a team effort. Pulisic was exceptional all night, weaving past defenders and creating scoring chances. Gio Reyna also had an incredible goal using the outside of his foot in the 79th minute to secure the victory.

New USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino praised the team’s performance, calling it a total team effort. Pulisic added that the team still has a lot of work to do, but the win was an incredible start to the World Cup.

Original reporting: NBC4 Los Angeles — read the source article.