OT (Soccer) - Huge Coup for USMNT - WE HAVE A REAL STRIKER
It's offseason, and there are plenty of soccer fans here, sooo...
For those in the know...
FALORIN BALOGUN HAS SWITCHED FROM ENGLAND TO USA FOR HIS NATIONALITY. COMMENCE YOUR CELEBTATIONS!
For those who don't...
Balogun is a 19yo wunderkid who is a "true" No. 9 striker (goal-scoring forward). He grew up in London and thus his international affiliation is with England. However, he was born in New York (parents were "on holiday"), so he is also a US Citizen and thus under FIFA rules eligible to play for USA. FIFA allows a one-time switch of affiliation. Today, he officially switched from England to USA, so now he can play for the USMNT.
This is a very significant gain for the team. We have playmakers (Pulisic, Reyna), wingers (Weah, Aaronson, Hernandez), and a pretty decent midfield ("MMA"--McKennie, Musah & Adams). What we haven't had is a legit, world-class-ish, fear-in-hearts-of-defense striker. A guy who can systematically put the ball in the net against top-class defenses.
Balogun appears to be that kind of player. He plays for Reims in France's Ligue Un, but is the subject of transfer rumors with Arsenal among them (natch, since he is from London). He has like 19 goals this year in Ligue Un, which is impressive. Young, fast, confident.
A real get for USMNT. It's not unexpected; the team has been recruiting him for a year, and he looks like he is behind the pecking order in England (Kane, Rashford, etc.). He's also a Gen Z'er and of color, which is like well over half our team -- he's "one of them." Yunus Musah is another English kid of basically the same age, who switched to USA a couple years ago, and undoubtedly was key in his recruitment... but apparently the entire team is super-connected with each other, very harmoniously, so it's easy for other players of the same generation to quickly get enamored with joining the team. And for us, unlike England, his playing time is, as Chucky would say, GAHHH-ronnnn-TEEED.
And we are hosting the WC in three years, so the lead striker on USA will have a very prominent role with global visibility.
The FIFA rankings should be taken with a grain of salt. Put Germany in Concacaf and, even in their current transitional state, they’d be the Gold Cup favorite.
Just like they pretend that their colonies leaving was no big deal.
Not much. Balogun is likely going to get sold by Arsenal as he wouldn’t consistently play in their front 3 so he likely was years away from even getting consistent time in England’s front 3.
Yeah, it seems like he's looking for a guarantee of being first-choice striker, which he's not going to be handed at Arsenal. Should he stay around, there's a good chance he ends up at least 1B to Gabriel Jesus's 1A, and Jesus is always an injury risk (insert Jesus jokes here). I think he's better than Nketiah, who's mostly a poacher and is wildly erratic. (And he's really only competing with those guys, I doubt Arsenal thinks he can play the way they want their wing forwards to play).
Martinelli becoming a regular on the wing is also going to hold him out. Just not enough space for another true starting #9 when you already have that much proven attacking power.
I think they care, at least they should. He scored 20 goals (all comps) and is just 21. Their depth is good, but why not secure a 21-year-old with a high upside?
- Kane (29)
- Rashford (more of a left-winger)
- Toney (27)
- Nketiah (23)
- ?
Saka is more of a winger, but Saka. They've also capped Hudson-Odoi, although he's fallen off pretty hard. I don't know enough about Sancho to say he's a ST, but I imagine he and Foden will be part of their attack for a while too.
EDIT: Had a brain fart and said Bellingham when I was picturing Sancho.
Saka is more of a winger, but Saka.
Saka isn't "more of a winger," he's literally just a winger. I don't think I've literally ever seen him play striker.
He doesn't play anywhere but right wing for Arsenal & England over the past couple of years.
He's so good that early in his Arsenal career at 18 or 19 years old he spent a bunch of time playing left back
He's a winger now, but the question was who is going to play in the middle in 4-6 years. Bale comes to mind as a guy that started as a wingback, moved up to wing, but was mostly a striker by the end of his international career.
I do have to respect Southgate & England for not just cap tying players to avoid them going to play for another country. He said it’s ethically wrong to cap tie a player when you know the player likely isn’t consistently getting called up to your squad in the next few years and you just end up depriving a player who could’ve gotten much more international play for another country.
You could tell Balogun was really wanting a promotion from the U-21 to the senior Three Lions team but good on Southgate for not biting which allowed for the best outcome for all parties involved.
Balogun is a 19yo wunderkid who is a "true" No. 9 striker (goal-scoring forward).
we haven't had a good striker who could perform under pressure since, well, this guy...
Niiice.
So then he's going to ship off to play for Chelsea, Sunderland, or Leeds, right? I'm confused which club we as Americans have a national duty to support. Do I have to be an Arsenal supporter now?
Well, I'm an Everton supporter because of Tim Howard. (Also because...The People's Club!) I'll still be there if they get relegated. Go Toffees.
It looks like Everton will stay up, based on recent performances. They still have some fight and desire. I wish I could say the same about my Foxes, but they are going down.
What an absolute chaotic journey for the Foxes over the past 10 years and I can't believe they're going down but you'll always have 2016
They were in League 1 when I started supporting them, so it's definitely been a wild ride over the years. I thought they were good enough to stay up after finishing 8th last year. It's been an incredibly disappointing year and the team needs a full reset at this point.
Speaking of club teams... did you end up deciding to get tickets to the Prem Summer Tour? Atlanta is the closest venue to us, so we're going to make the trip for the Chelsea match, and get a Brighton/Brentford warm-up act earlier in the day.
I desperately want to, but the entire tour is happening over a preplanned vacation up north that tends to draw other family members from out of state. So as much as it is killing me and one of my kids, we're not going to be able to do it. Philly was our best option. Enjoy Atlanta - of all of the games, that was the one I really wanted to see in person. Enjoy!!!
makes my coolest name team easily. I hope we can find a uniform designer with an appreciation of the sport before the cup. usually we have one decent kit and a couple of clunkers.
striker's have to be opportunistic to be any good and having one with a chip in his chowder could work out well.
hope the coaching staff is improved significantly. That said. Onward USMNT...slay the dragons and the inner demons.
Folarin Balogun - Player profile 22/23 | Transfermarkt
He's a dynamic player, only 21, and superb in Liege 1. Arsenal could have transferred him to another EPL team, a couple Italian teams wanted him, but they didn't. They protected him and kept him in France to grow - he did. He likely plays for Arsenal in the Fall and battles with Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus.
He slots in as the third-best in CONCACAF behind David, Davies, probably same level as an inform Pulisic, Adams and ahead of Santi, etc. It's like getting a four star in the transfer market.
Don't sleep on Pepi. He was good for a bad team in an average league. I'm guessing he ends up at a top Eredivisie team or in Italy. Malik Tillman too, he has a unique skillset depending on what position he ends up at.
It’s Ligue 1. Liège is a city in Belgium.
Wow. Time to celebrate AND celebtate!
Thanks for posting the great news.
All in for Folarin!
Balogun brings the fun!
Oh, man, I was hoping this would be a football thread.
I'd love to see the US dominate the world soccer scene.
I always wonder how much the dual nationals are going to show up in world cup qualifiers in Central America on a Tuesday night, BUT we don't have to qualify in 2026. He has three years to build chemistry with the team and he should be peaking in 2026. This definitely raises our ceiling and gives depth in front of Pepi. Huge get for the USMNT.
Just curious how his mother was allowed on plane being so pregnant. I thought airlines restrict this.
Send him on loan to West Ham and diehebdjdbd...
diehebdjdbd...
Djibouti?
USMNT NIL game must be pretty strong.
Nice get!
Talented kid that moves a needle. Problem is... he doesn't move THE NEEDLE. In the WC last year I kept getting the sense the US needed two things... Firstly a coach... we really need a freaking competent coach. But secondly, we need a player we can lean on in lulls or tough stretches that can be relied on to bang a goal or break a defense with a pass or just dominate possession. We don't have THAT player. Once we get that player... it'll naturally make the other players around him better. Plus we've grown so much as a club in order to take that next step we need a player the European clubs fear.