United States star Folarin Balogun is able to play for his country at the World Cup thanks to an amazing loophole.
Among all the players representing their countries at the World Cup, United States star Folarin Balogun has one of the most fascinating stories behind his choice to play for the US.
Balogun scored twice in his World Cup debut against Paraguay last week, helping Mauricio Pochettino’s team get off to a fantastic start on home ground. The Monaco striker will be eager to add more goals in the next group game against Australia at Lumen Field in Seattle.
He’s close to earning 30 caps for the USMNT since his first call-up in June 2023. Though he grew up in London and came through Arsenal’s academy, where he played 10 first-team games, Balogun was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 3, 2001, which makes him eligible for the US team.
His parents were visiting family in New York when his mother, Florence, who was heavily pregnant, wasn’t allowed on their return flight because the airline thought she was too far along. A few weeks later, Balogun was born in Brooklyn before the family headed back to London.
He has Nigerian roots through his parents and played for England at youth levels but chose the US after impressing on loan at Reims in France, where he scored 21 goals in 37 Ligue 1 games. After pulling out of England’s Under-21 camp, the US made a big effort to win him over, even taking him to watch an NBA game between the Orlando Magic and New York Knicks. His switch to the US was officially approved in May 2023.
Balogun shared, “The fans gave me so much motivation and support throughout this journey. I just want to keep showing them I made the right choice.”
Interestingly, under former President Donald Trump’s proposed immigration rules, Balogun might not have automatically qualified as a US citizen because his parents were on a tourist visa when he was born. Trump wanted to deny citizenship to children born in the US to parents who were in the country illegally or on temporary visas—a rule that could change if the Supreme Court sides with that plan.
Many other US players also have connections to other countries, like Fulham’s left-back Antonee Robinson. He was born in England but his father moved to New York and became an American citizen, linking Robinson to the US team too.