Christian Pulisic is widely considered the USMNT's best player. However, he is currently on a bad run of form. The Stars and Stripes' best player is, in fact, Folarin Balogun.
In an alternate universe, Balogun would be one of England's back-up options to Harry Kane. Balogun was a top player for England Under-21s, where he scored seven goals in 13 matches.
Whilst Balogun was on loan at Stade de Reims from Arsenal during the 2022/23 season, he appeared to think he deserved a call-up for England's senior team. He was in form that campaign, scoring 21 goals and adding 3 assists in 37 Ligue 1 games.
However, Gareth Southgate did not include Balogun in his squad for an international break in March. There was much speculation that the player could switch allegiances to the USMNT at the time. Balogun was born in New York and had played for the United States' U18s.
Balogun posted on Instagram at the time, "In life, go where you are appreciated." He was still included in the England U21s roster, but withdrew before committing to the USMNT.
Folarin Balogun is better than Christian Pulisic
The striker made his USMNT debut in May of 2023 in the CONCACAF Nations League and then went on to score in the tournament's final as the Stars and Stripes defeated Canada. Balogun has since gone on to score eight goals with four assists in 25 games for the USMNT.
He will be expected to be Mauricio Pochettino's first-choice striker at the World Cup this summer. However, it does face competition from the likes of Ricardo Pepi and Patrick Agymeang.
In Balogun's favor is that he is now starring in one of Europe's top five leagues. After impressing on loan at Reims, Balogun made the permanent switch to AS Monaco. This season, he has found the back of the net 13 times with five assists in 29 Ligue 1 games.
Balogun has also impressed in the Champions League this campaign. He scored five goals in 10 matches in the competition, which included a brace against Paris Saint-Germain.
Pulisic's stats for this season are far less impressive, albeit it must be noted that the AC Milan player is a winger. In 28 Serie A games, Pulisic has scored eight goals and provided just three assists. He has also had just one goal involvement in his last 17 league games. We cannot compare his Champions League stats to Balogun's, as Milan failed to qualify for any form of European soccer.
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