Folarin Balogun’s USMNT jerseys in big demand after World Cup opener

Coming into the World Cup, US men’s national team fans had two well-established favorite players when it came to buying jerseys: Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie.

According to U.S.-based online retailer Soccer.com, both ranked in the top 10 best-selling jerseys among players in the tournament last month, with Pulisic second behind only Lionel Messi and McKennie rounding out the list at No. 10. But after Friday night’s opening match rout of Paraguay, a third member of the team is rocketing up the jersey sales charts.

Folarin Balogun joined the U.S. squad in 2023 with some fanfare from the team’s diehards, but in his first exposure to a wider, more casual American audience Friday in the World Cup, he put his name in lights. Balogun became the first USMNT player to score two goals in a single World Cup match since 1930, which already puts him fifth on the team’s career World Cup goalscorers list (Landon Donovan leads with five).

Naturally, this sparked a jersey-buying frenzy among fans energized by the 4-1 victory to start a World Cup on home soil. On Soccer.com, Balogun jerseys are on backorder until early July (Pulisic and McKennie are both “in stock and ready to ship”).

On U.S. kitmaker Nike’s website, Balogun’s red-and-white-striped home shirt, which the team wore Friday, is sold out, with limited stock of his dark blue away shirt still available (the same is true for Pulisic and McKennie).

On major sportswear retailer Dick’s Sporting Goods’ website, Balogun’s home jersey is available in limited sizes and carries a notification that the shirt is “selling fast” with 300 purchased in the last 24 hours as of Saturday afternoon. Pulisic and McKennie’s jerseys are available in more plentiful sizes and without the same notification.

Soccer.com’s best-selling World Cup jerseys in May

1. Lionel Messi, Argentina
2. Christian Pulisic, USA
3. Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
4. Neymar, Brazil
5. Kylian Mbappé, France
6. Lamine Yamal, Spain
7. Heung-min Son, Korea Republic
8. Raúl Jiménez, Mexico
9. Florian Wirtz, Germany
10. Weston McKennie, USA

It’s not just Balogun jerseys selling in greater quantities; it’s his trading cards, too. In the last 24 hours, 18 of his cards have sold for $500 or more on eBay, according to trading card sales database Card Ladder, accounting for 35 percent of his cards that have sold in that price category all time. (Balogun’s primary rookie card is his 2021-22 Panini Prizm Premier League card, for those now wondering.)

Balogun, who was born in Brooklyn while his London-based parents were visiting the U.S., grew up in the English capital and played for both the U.S. and England at the youth level. He had the option to continue with England at the senior level, albeit facing stiffer competition at his position for call-ups, but he chose the U.S. instead.

“As I said when I committed and throughout the whole journey to being at this point, I’ve always said the fans gave me so much motivation, showed me so much support,” Balogun said after his star turn against Paraguay. “The most important thing has always been to be able to repay that. Today was a great opportunity. I just want to continue to show the fans I made the right decision, and I’m completely proud, and I want to continue to make the fans proud as well.”

If he keeps playing like he did Friday, those fans will remain quite proud, now with more of them wearing his name and number on their back.

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