IRVINE, Calif. — Folarin Balogun, eligible to play for the U.S. national team due to birthright citizenship, has spent just about his entire life in Europe.
So when he sees something here in the States that is, let’s say, typical, he reacts in the same way as many tourists seeing America for the first time during the World Cup.
“He says America’s a simulation quite often,” Mark McKenzie said. “We’ll be driving down the road and he’ll see something and be like, ‘What is that? Why is an individual dressed like that or why are they throwing a sign up in the air on the corner? What is Bojangles?’ It’s stuff like that where he’s like, ‘Bro, America, what is going on?’ ”
Unlike those tourists, Balogun has spent time in the States before.
But the star striker, one of a handful of starters on the American team who grew up in Europe and chose to play for the U.S. — Malik Tillman, Sergiño Dest and Antonee Robinson being the others — can still see the country with fresh eyes.
For example, when John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” played over the speakers after the U.S. completed a 2-0 win over Australia, Balogun didn’t know it.
“He was like, this is interesting,” Chris Richards said. “I think even him hearing the coaching staff listening to country music, he’s dumbfounded by that.”
Ditto for portion sizes at restaurants, and some of the chain restaurant staples around the country.
The extended and geographically diverse nature of a World Cup camp that’s visited New York, Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Los Angeles and Seattle, with the next stop in the Bay Area for the round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, lends itself to a different sort of appreciation too.
“I think he still has this notion that he says Americans aren’t real,” Richards joked. “There’s some stuff that we do that doesn’t fly back in London. So it’s pretty cool, ’cause it takes a lot to learn and especially when you’re only here for a few weeks at a time. It’s been cool, being able to see different pockets of America.”
Balogun’s backstory — he was born in Brooklyn and thus eligible to play for the USMNT only because his mom was stopped from boarding a plane back to Europe while heavily pregnant — along with his play through the group stage, has raised his profile immensely.
Though he sat out the group-stage finale against Turkey after picking up a yellow card, Balogun scored twice against Paraguay and created two own goals between that game and the Australia win.
He’s likely to earn a move from his current club, Ligue 1’s AS Monaco, according to The Athletic, and a striker position that was long a deficiency for the USMNT has become a strength, thanks largely to his decision to represent his nation of birth.
Asked to describe facing Balogun’s shot last week, goalkeeper Matt Freese held up his hands, covered in tape, and said, “It’s strong.”
“Obviously he’s a striker who’s very versatile,” said McKenzie, who faces Balogun regularly at the club level in France. “He can hurt you on the dribble, hurt you in behind, he’s a clinical finisher.”
Christian Pulisic simply called him “a killer.”
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Balogun himself seems bemused that his story has gotten so much attention.
He’s soft-spoken while projecting confidence, and in the grand tradition of the country, he carries a big stick.
“I think the team has always been diverse. No different from America,” Balogun said. “An extremely diverse place. I think the most important thing for us is to stay focused on what we’re doing. We’re here to play football, we’re here to compete at the highest level, we’re here to make the country proud. I think if we do it at the level I know we can, we’ll inspire the nation.”
