Folarin Balogun isn't just hoping for a good World Cup. He's treating it as a career pivot point — and given what he's produced at Monaco this season, that's not delusion. Nineteen goals and five assists across 43 games gives him the form to back up the ambition.
"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 24-year-old told Get French Football News ahead of the tournament. He said it without flinching. That kind of clarity from a forward is usually a good sign.
The weight of leading the line
Balogun is being positioned — by fans, by analysts, and increasingly by his own words — as the focal point of a USMNT attack that has historically leaned on Christian Pulisic. That's a shift. Pulisic remains important, but a striker in this kind of club form draws the eye differently heading into a home World Cup.
He's aware of what hosting brings. Millions of eyes. Domestic energy that the US rarely channels into soccer at this level. Balogun wants to be the player who converts that atmosphere into something lasting for the sport in America. Whether that happens depends almost entirely on what he does inside the box.
His approach to managing the pressure is straightforward: "If you train hard and you work hard when this opportunity comes, there's nothing to be scared of." He pointed to his Monaco season as proof he's done the groundwork. A striker going into a World Cup cold is a liability. Balogun isn't cold.
Pochettino, Paraguay, and a realistic ceiling
Mauricio Pochettino has brought what you'd expect from a coach of his experience — structure, belief, competitive edge within the squad. Balogun described it as a "fighting mentality," which matters when your first group-stage opponent is Paraguay, a side apparently willing to put a coach on the floor in a friendly.
"I'm hoping, in the World Cup, for better officiating," Balogun said, deadpan. It's a fair request.
The USMNT's stated goal is to get out of the group first, then deal with the knockout rounds from there. That's sensible. France — Balogun's pick as the strongest squad on paper — are among the favorites, and the Americans aren't going to outmuscle the field. They'll need moments. Tournament football runs on moments. A striker who's been scoring at Balogun's rate knows how to make them.
If he fires and the US runs deep, his market value goes somewhere very different from where it sits today. That's not speculation — that's how World Cups work. Ask Mbappe after 2018.
