LOS ANGELES – If not for the concerns of New York airline workers nearly 25 years ago, the most historic two-goal night in U.S. Soccer history may not have come to be in Friday’s World Cup opener at SoFi Stadium.
In June of 2001 while on a trip from London to visit family in New York, Nigerian citizen Florence Balogun was seven months pregnant with eventual USMNT striker Folarin Balogun.
At what she thought was the conclusion of her trip, Florence went to the airport to fly to England, but she was denied boarding due to the advanced nature of her pregnancy and lacking the necessary medical clearances.
Florence was forced to stay in the United States until those clearances came through, but she would need a different set of documentation to get back, as Folarin ended up being born in Brooklyn on July 3, 2001. That small delay granted Folarin birthright citizenship in the U.S. even when he and his mother returned to England a few weeks later.
One small decision kicked off a 25-year journey from airplane gate denial in New York to scoring the first two-goal World Cup game in 96 years for his birth nation on Friday in in Los Angeles.
“I’m very proud of my individual journey,” Balogun said at the opening of the USMNT’s World Cup base camp in Irvine last Monday. “Full circle now approaching the World Cup. Especially the World Cup being here, the opportunity to represent my nation in front of the home crowd is something special for me, for my family, for my friends and for the team. I’m definitely looking forward to it. Very proud.”
Beyond the circumstances of his birth, it was quite the journey for Balogun to eventually don the stars and stripes.
As most British-raised youth do, Balogun took to soccer at a young age and signed into Arsenal’s academy at eight years old. The right-footed striker rose up through the Premier League club’s youth ranks before eventually signing a pro contract with the North London side in 2019. After a 2022 loan to French club Reims, Balogun signed with AS Monaco in France's Ligue 1 in 2023.
When it came to the international game, Balogun had options. He began his international youth career with 2018 call-ups to both England’s U17 squad and the United States’ U18 team, all the while keeping interest open for Nigeria based on his parents’ heritage.
Balogun would again play for England’s U18, U20 and U21 teams, but without any call-ups to the senior side, he had yet to tie off his international rights, which left the door open to fervent fan campaigns from USMNT supporters trying to sway his services across the Atlantic.
“I just remember just immense amount of appreciation from the fans,” Balogun said last Monday, recalling the social media movements and the fervent reactions to his visits to U.S. Soccer events. “And then I realized at that moment, how big football, soccer was out here in America, and to really feel that full force was something that was inspirational for me. It made that decision easier.”
Balogun was pointing specifically to a trip to Florida in May 2023, and it was then he filed his petition with FIFA to play for the United States. He earned his first call-up to the USMNT in June of that year, and with that, he was tied to the American soccer experience.
Jordan Teller - The Sporting Tribune
Omar Alderete #3 of Paraguay pushes Folarin Balogun #20 of United States to the ground during a 2026 FIFA World Cup match, Friday June 12, 2026 in Inglewood, Calif.
In this three-year run-up to this U.S. co-hosted World Cup, Balogun kept that outpouring of support for the American soccer community on his heart. Playing in this World Cup was part of the dream of choosing the United States, and he was committed to making everyone’s effort worth it.
“When I committed and throughout the whole cycle, and the whole journey to me, being at this point, I've always said, the fans gave me so much motivation, show me so much support,” Balogun said after two goals in Friday’s World Cup opener, “and for me, the most important thing has always been to be able to repay that. I feel like today's a great opportunity, and I just want to continue to show the fans I made the right decision, and I'm completely proud, and I want to continue to make the fans proud as well.”
Whether for the U.S. Soccer die hards that spearheaded the recruitment campaign three-plus years ago or for the Americans hitching onto the World Cup bandwagon, Balogun may have already repaid his debt in full with his one performance.
Again, no United States men’s player had scored more than one goal in a World Cup match since 1930, when Bert Patenaude scored the first hat trick in the tournament’s history for the U.S. against Paraguay, coincidentally.
Balogun did it twice in the first half, with the second goal coming mere minutes after another strike was called offside. Both of Balogun’s braces showed the class of a pure striker, with a perfect placement off a Christian Pulisic feed for the first goal and a dynamic left-footed strike for the second goal.
"I think that’s what we expect of him. That’s what he expects of himself. He wants to score goals," U.S. midfielder Weston McKennie said. "He comes up big in those moments. Clinical finisher. If you don’t know the type of player he is, I think you could see it today. I think also you saw another side of Flo today that maybe many people have not been able to see."
It wasn't just finishing the offensive chances put on a platter for him, either. Balogun was an impact player all over the pitch on Friday.
"Obviously, it’s a World Cup, and you know how everyone steps up to their maximum maximum for it and maybe show things you’ve never seen before," McKennie said. "He’s getting stuck into tackles and putting his body on the line. I feel like in the past a lot of people maybe have not made him out to be a player like that, but I think he just showed everyone today that he’s willing to do the dirty work as well."
Balogun’s performance is part of what already has the U.S. public believing in more for this men’s national team than ever before. There is some tempering of enthusiasm as it is just one game, but as with the American dream that was bestowed upon him from the chances of his birth, there is also room for wide-eyed optimism.
“I think it's important to take each game at a time,” Balogun said Friday, “but of course, Poch (USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino) has said many times, why not us? We have to believe. We can't do anything if you don't believe in yourself.”