Folarin Balogun isn't pretending the stakes are anything other than what they are. "If you score a lot of goals in the World Cup and you take your country far, it can change the direction of your career," the Monaco forward said ahead of this summer's tournament on home soil. At 24, with a 19-goal Ligue 1 season behind him, he knows exactly what kind of platform is in front of him.
After producing 19 goals and five assists across 43 games for Monaco this season, Balogun arrives at the World Cup in the kind of form that makes the expectation feel earned rather than overblown. He's made the point himself — a bad club season going into a World Cup creates pressure that cracks players. A good one creates momentum. He's chosen the latter.
The attack runs through Balogun
There's a shift happening in how people view the USMNT's attacking hierarchy. Balogun acknowledged it directly: he sees himself as a pivotal figure, possibly the central one, ahead of even Christian Pulisic in terms of where the goal threat originates. That's not arrogance — that's a striker who's spent a season proving he belongs at the top level and wants the ball to show it on the biggest stage.
Mauricio Pochettino has helped frame the whole operation. Balogun credits the Argentine with bringing "a fighting mentality" and making the squad more competitive internally, which matters more than any tactical system. A group that pushes each other in training tends to push opponents in knockout football.
The opener against Paraguay won't be comfortable. Balogun recalled the last meeting getting physical enough that a coach ended up on the floor. Group stage football at a home World Cup, against an opponent with nothing to lose, is rarely clean. The USMNT's odds of navigating the group will depend heavily on whether Balogun can convert the chances he tends to create at club level.
France on paper, chaos in practice
Ask him who has the best squad and he'll tell you France — "there's no denying the quality." But he's also smart enough to know World Cups aren't won on paper. The 2022 final between France and Argentina, which he cited as the most remarkable match he's witnessed, is proof enough that pedigree and talent get you to the final and then anything happens.
For anyone pricing up outright winners or top scorer markets, Balogun at a home World Cup, in form, with a clear role as the spearhead, is one of the more compelling cases among attackers outside the elite European clubs. The platform is there. He's earned the right to use it.
