Is Folarin Balogun going to suit up for the U.S. men’s national team?
The question remains open, but of late has heated up significantly. USMNT Twitter flew into an uproar on Wednesday after Balogun posted photos of himself in Orlando, though it wasn’t entirely clear when the photos were taken or why he posted those photos.
Coming on the heels of a cryptic Balogun Instagram post last week after he was not called up by England, and interim USMNT coach Anthony Hudson admitting the federation was “in open dialogue” with the 21-year-old, things were bound to ramp up further. Fans wanting the Reims marksman to commit to the USMNT, as opposed to his options with the Three Lions or Nigeria, filled the rest of the information in with assumptions that he’s already made up his mind.
Things reached a fever pitch when the Orlando Magic confirmed Balogun was in town on Thursday, sharing photos of the striker with a “Balogun 9” Magic jersey ahead of their tipoff with the New York Knicks.
welcome to the O @balogun 🪄 pic.twitter.com/bKVIhKLb0m
— Orlando Magic (@OrlandoMagic) March 23, 2023
Speaking to reporters later on Thursday from Grenada ahead of the USMNT’s Nations League match against the Spice Boys, Hudson cautioned that no commitments had been made, and in fact nothing much else has happened.
“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,” said Hudson. “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 to me, and I know a few of the guys have spoken to him as well.”
Christian Pulisic, who Hudson said will captain the team with Tyler Adams (hamstring) unavailable in this window, backed that up, but said that he wasn’t on the list of people blowing up Balogun’s phone.
“I haven’t really spoken to him personally,” said Pulisic. “I know some of the guys that know him from previous teams or whatever have reached out to him and spoken to him. From our side, we’d love to have him.”
Balogun Watch will continue with breathless updates, whether he’s announcing which national team he’ll be scoring goals for or just checking out the sights at Epcot Center.
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