USMNT has got its man! Arsenal loan star Folarin Balogun is the missing piece that can take the Stars and Stripes to new levels

When Balogun was spotted in Orlando, things truly started to heat up. The striker's arrival in Florida came ahead of the USMNT's Nations League return, and it signaled that there was at least some interest coming from the striker's side. In the midst of a breakout season in Ligue 1, Balogun had been ignored by England's senior squad in March and, as a result, was seemingly assessing his options.

That first photo sent USMNT fans into a frenzy, as Twitter quickly pinpointed his location in Orlando. From there, the striker went on a true U.S. tour, taking in NBA and MLB games while meeting with his potential new team-mates. Fans, meanwhile, showed their love for the striker in the stands, carrying banners bearing his name before and during the match against El Salvador.

“He’s out here having a little bit of a break, and some training, and we’ve had some discussions. Now it’s about him just enjoying the rest of his trip,” USMNT interim boss Anthony Hudson said at the time. “I think it’s good because it’s been an opportunity for us just to share about our program and who we are, and what we do. And again, hope we get the chance to speak with him again. It’s been good for me, and I know a few of the guys have spoken to him as well."

It's a tactic that the U.S. used when recruiting Yunus Musah, who, coincidentally, may have been key to all of this. Balogun's former Arsenal team-mate, who committed to the USMNT last cycle, was invited to camp for an introduction and shown how the U.S. does things. He met his team-mates, trained with the team, was invited into the brotherhood and it worked. Musah switched from England shortly after.

And now Balogun has followed suit, becoming the latest dual national star to become a member of that brotherhood on the road to 2026.

What makes this commitment so massive is just how necessary it is. For years, the USMNT has struggled at the No.9 position. Not since Jozy Altidore has the U.S. had a central striker that could truly be defined as "the guy". And, as players like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Gio Reyna have made impacts at Europe's big clubs, there has not been a bonafide goalscorer to do the same.

In this sport, especially at the international level, a true No.9 can paper over many cracks. You can get away with not having a top left-back or a top goalkeeper, but you cannot hide a lack of goalscorer up top. A top striker can carry a national team on their back, and a lack of one can doom a national team to defeat.

It was a lesson the U.S. learned in Qatar, as they struggled to find someone to put the ball into the back of the net. Draws against both England and Wales were there for the taking and easily could have been wins if the U.S. had that goalscoring touch. Balogun, by all accounts, has just that. The Arsenal product has 19 Ligue 1 goals this season. Only four players in the French top-flight have more.

For the U.S., Balogun very much feels like the missing piece, the one thing they need to complement their young, star-studded core. And now they have him, for the 2026 World Cup and, hopefully, for years to come.

While Balogun is very much expected to be the USMNT starter going forward, that doesn't mean he will simply be handed the role. The U.S. does have a number of talented strikers, all of whom will certainly have a fire lit under them by this news.

Ricardo Pepi, who just a year-and-a-half ago was in the same position Balogun finds himself in now as the striker of the future, is just 19 years old and having a fine season at Groningen. After his disastrous move to Augsburg, Pepi has totally rebuilt himself and is expected to make a big move at club level this summer.

Jesus Ferreira looks poised for a big move of his own, with Napoli reportedly lurking, while Daryl Dike and Josh Sargent could still prove themselves in English soccer. Add in the likes of Haji Wright, who has been tearing it up in Turkey, and you have plenty of potential candidates to push Balogun for that starting spot.

Make no mistake, though, Balogun has both the better track record and the highest potential. He's not made this switch to be a guy but the guy, and he'll have every chance to be starting this summer.

Much can change depending on the next coach and the next system but, as things stand, Balogun seems like the ideal fit for the USMNT as constructed. The U.S. has talented wingers in Pulisic, Reyna, Tim Weah and Brenden Aaronson, all of whom bring a different skillset to the position. Each of those named will benefit from having Balogun playing next to them, and each has aspects of their game that could help get the best of the new USMNT striker.

Balogun is a natural finisher, a player that makes the most of the chances that fall his way. He's near the top of Ligue 1 goalscoring charts despite playing for a mid-table team in Reims because, when the ball does fall his way, he makes the most of it.

That will take the burden off of someone like Pulisic, who can play his natural game as a creator with the USMNT. It will open doors for someone like Reyna, who has found his own goalscoring touch with Dortmund off the bench. Balogun's game will benefit from someone like Weah, who gets to the end-line with ease. And the striker could certainly benefit from someone like Aaronson, who presses until his legs fall off and can create opportunities out of nothing.

They say a rising tide lifts all boats, and having a good striker is the equivalent of a tidal wave. What Balogun brings has a ripple effect, one that should benefit those around him.

Once again, it all depends on the new coach, but the U.S. does have options when it comes to lining up with Balogun.

Assuming he starts at striker, the U.S. could stick with the tried-and-true 4-3-3. That would see Pulisic and Weah on either side, with Antonee Robinson and Sergino Dest behind them. On the left, Pulisic would cut in with Robinson having space to overlap, while the opposite would be true on the right, with Weah providing pace and Dest cutting inside a bit more as a playmaker.

However, the U.S. has also experimented with a 4-2-3-1, a formation that would see one of McKennie or Musah taken out of the XI. In that system, Reyna could play centrally as a No.10, giving the U.S. one more playmaker and one more goal threat in the XI.

Over the next three years, whoever the new coach is could toy with both options, but that new coach will have some very, very good pieces to work with on the road to 2026.

While the USMNT will celebrate Balogun's commitment, there is the other side of this race: England. Balogun had played almost exclusively for the Three Lions at youth level, save for a few appearances for the U.S. He had, until just now, looked destined to play for England.

Even as the USMNT rumors began to heat up, there were some that believed it to be a case of Balogun using U.S. interest to his advantage with Gareth Southgate, who overlooked Balogun in March. The threat of a USMNT defection could have vaulted Balogun up the ladder, although Southgate himself said he wouldn't take that into account. Now, though, it has been confirmed that the interest was genuine. The decision has been made. Now, England are the ones who have missed out.

In the short term, they'll be just fine. Harry Kane isn't going anywhere while Marcus Rashford has scored for fun in the Premier League this season, even if he is more of a winger. Options like Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney and Tammy Abraham are all still there, while Eddie Nketiah, Balogun's Arsenal team-mate, could very well be a future Three Lions striker.

In the long term, though, this could prove to be a big miss for England. If Balogun does prove that he isn't a one-season wonder by continuing to bang in goals in a top European league, England will feel like they missed out on a potential starter.

That is a big if, of course, and there's also plenty of reason to expect more talent to come through the England pipeline in the coming years. So, with that in mind, this is all a bit more "TBD" when it comes to assessing what exactly England missed out on and how it will impact them in the long run.

USMNT fans won't have to wait long to see Balogun in a U.S. jersey. The USMNT face a busy summer, starting with a Nations League semi-final clash with Mexico on June 15. A meeting with Canada or Panama will come three days later, whether in a third-place match or in the final itself.

After that, the U.S. will shift focus to the Gold Cup, which begins on June 24 with a match against Jamaica at Solider Field. It remains to be seen how the program handles the roster for this summer, but there is a chance that Balogun is involved in both tournaments as he adjusts to his new team.

This summer, though, will just be the start. By the fall, a new coach should be in place as the USMNT begin the path toward the 2026 World Cup on home soil. It will include friendlies and, most notably, a Copa America in 2024 that will serve as a good test run for the World Cup against some of the world's elite.

The USMNT now have their guy. The mission has been accomplished. Now, all involved can look forward to what happens next.