USMNT

Folarin Balogun smashes home first USMNT goal vs. Canada in Nations League final

Balogun's goal made it 2-0 in the 34th minute

Balogun
Getty

It took fewer than two full games for Folarin Balogun to score his first goal for the United States men's national team.

Balogun made it 2-0 against Canada in the 34th minute of the 2023 Concacaf Nations League Final on Sunday, scoring off a well-weighted pass from Gio Reyna past goalkeeper Milan Borjan.

The 21-year-old made a run behind Canadian center back Scott Kennedy's shoulder and smashed home Reyna's through ball.

Balogun, who switched his national team allegiance from England to the U.S. earlier in the year, started against Mexico in the semifinal on Thursday but was not among the scorers in the 3-0 rout, though he had a solid all-around performance.

The Arsenal youth academy prospect just finished his first full season in a top-five league with Stade de Reims of France's Ligue 1, where he logged 21 goals and two assists in 37 appearances as a loanee from the English Premier League side.

Crystal Palace center back Chris Richards scored the first goal of the game on a header from Reyna's corner kick in the 12th minute.

โ€œItโ€™s definitely made me a lot more conscious about what I'm saying, not just on the pitch, but off the pitch as well,โ€ USMNT defender DeAndre Yedlin said. โ€œBecause at the end of the day, you know, if I'm if I'm coming out and I'm supporting these sorts of things and I need to act on that behavior and try to set the best example that I can.โ€
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