Folarin Balogun Menatap Babak Gugur Piala Dunia 2026 Bersama AS Monaco

Penyerang tim nasional Amerika Serikat Folarin Balogun bersiap memimpin lini depan timnya menghadapi babak gugur 32 besar Piala Dunia 2026 di Santa Clara, California, setelah memastikan tiket lolos dari Grup D.

Pemain berusia 24 tahun milik AS Monaco tersebut menjadi andalan utama pelatih Mauricio Pochettino berkat performa tajamnya di fase grup dengan mencetak dua gol ke gawang Paraguay dan memicu gol bunuh diri saat melawan Australia.

Balogun lahir di New York City dari orang tua asal Nigeria namun dibesarkan di Inggris, sebelum akhirnya memilih membela Amerika Serikat pada tahun 2023 setelah mendapat persetujuan dari FIFA.

Proses kewarganegaraan Balogun didapat secara tidak sengaja karena sang ibu, Florence, dilarang terbang kembali ke London oleh maskapai akibat usia kehamilan yang sudah tua saat sedang mengunjungi keluarganya di New York.

"America's a simulation quite often," kata Mark McKenzie, bek timnas AS yang sering menghadapi Balogun dalam sesi latihan.

McKenzie menambahkan bahwa striker setinggi 1,78 meter itu kerap kebingungan dengan budaya Amerika Serikat seperti porsi makanan restoran yang besar serta musik country.

"We'll be driving down the road and he'll see something and be like, ‘What is that?’ Why is that individual dressed like that, or why are they throwing a sign up in the air on the corner, or what is Bojangles? It’s stuff like that, where he’s like, ‘America … what is going on?’" lanjut Mark McKenzie.

Selama menjalani pemusatan latihan dan turnamen di Amerika Serikat, mantan pemain akademi Arsenal ini mengaku sangat menikmati dinamika dan berbagai pilihan aktivitas yang tersedia.

"We wake up in the morning, and some of the boys are going to go surf, and some boys are going to go fishing, some boys are going to go shopping," kata Folarin Balogun.

Balogun merasa bangga dengan takdir unik yang membawanya bisa memperkuat tim nasional Amerika Serikat saat ini.

"It's just the options. I really do like that," ujar Folarin Balogun.

Kisah kelahiran Balogun kini menjadi sorotan di tengah perdebatan hukum mengenai hak kewarganegaraan berdasarkan tempat lahir (birthright citizenship) di Mahkamah Agung AS.

"I'm very proud and very honored," kata Folarin Balogun.

Rekan setimnya, Christian Pulisic, turut memuji kontribusi besar serta kepribadian Balogun di dalam maupun di luar lapangan pertandingan.

"I feel like it's happened in the way it has for a reason … it's beyond explainable how special and unique my story is," lanjut Folarin Balogun.

Kehadiran Balogun dinilai memberikan dampak instan sejak debutnya pada 15 Juni 2023 di semifinal CONCACAF Nations League melawan Meksiko.

"Look what he's done in the last couple games," kata Christian Pulisic.

Pulisic menambahkan bahwa seluruh tim merasa beruntung memiliki striker yang telah mencetak 21 gol di Ligue 1 bersama Stade de Reims sebelum pindah ke Monaco tersebut.

"But that's not the only reason why we're happy he's born in America. He's just an awesome teammate to have around. Getting to know him over the last couple of years has been great. He's such a nice guy, and obviously you can see a killer when he's on the field," tutur Christian Pulisic.

Pengacara asal Long Beach, David Boyle, menyebut kasus Balogun sebagai keberuntungan bagi dunia olahraga Amerika Serikat dari prinsip amandemen ke-14.

"Here see ‘birthright serendipity,’ where Folarin Balogun's mother's advanced pregnancy actually helped the U.S., since her talented son can now play for America," kata David Boyle.

Boyle menilai Amerika Serikat sering diuntungkan oleh kontribusi anak-anak yang lahir dari sistem kewarganegaraan tersebut.

"America has been rewarded many times for its generosity to birthright-citizen babies. Those infant immigrants who have received much, but sometimes grow up to give back even more," tambah David Boyle.

Profesor hukum dari Indiana University, Gerard Magliocca, menyatakan pencapaian Balogun adalah jawaban bagi pihak yang meragukan hak anak-anak dari turis asing.

"You can dismiss a baby born here to parents who are tourists," kata Gerard Magliocca.

Magliocca menegaskan kontribusi besar di lapangan hijau membuktikan nilai penting dari status warga negara mereka.

"‘They’re not worth being American. What could they possibly do for us?’ And this is one answer," jelas Gerard Magliocca.

Namun, Dennis Grossman dari Christian Family Coalition Florida menyatakan kebijakan publik dan keamanan nasional tidak boleh diubah hanya karena prestasi olahraga.

"It’s really admirable what this guy is doing in soccer," kata Dennis Grossman.

Grossman menilai aturan amandemen tidak boleh digoyahkan oleh pengecualian yang jarang terjadi seperti ini.

"But you can't alter public policy, you can't alter the nation's security concerns, and you can't alter the nation's tolerance religiously and the intent of the 14th Amendment, because there is a rare exception," tegas Dennis Grossman.

Di sisi lain, Balogun juga tengah bersaing dalam perebutan sepatu emas (Golden Boot) Piala Dunia melawan bintang dunia seperti Lionel Messi dan Kylian Mbappe.

"I think it's annoying," kata Folarin Balogun sembari tertawa saat mengomentari jumlah gol para pesaingnya.

Meskipun memiliki risiko absen di babak 32 besar jika menerima kartu kuning tambahan, Balogun tetap berambisi tampil konsisten di level tertinggi.

"Seeing players like Messi, Mbappe, and Haaland - they're so inevitable," ujar Folarin Balogun.

Balogun optimistis bisa menyamai ketajaman para penyerang top dunia tersebut seiring berjalannya turnamen.

"They're scoring a goal a game, sometimes more so. For me, it's just about trying to get to that level, to be inevitable as well, to be consistent. I'm sure I've got the potential in me to do that," ucap Folarin Balogun.

Meski berhasrat main, Balogun mengakui timnya harus bermain cerdas agar posisinya aman dari akumulasi kartu di laga tidak menentukan melawan Turki.

"I want to play every game," tutur Folarin Balogun.

Balogun menegaskan kesiapan fisik merupakan prioritas utama bagi dirinya sebagai atlet profesional.

"That's what got me to where I am: being available. I think the most important thing for a professional athlete in any sport is to be available, and I'm no different, so of course I want to play, but it's also important to be smart. I wouldn't want to pick up a yellow card and miss the Round of 32," urai Folarin Balogun.

Terkait kemeriahan di stadion, pemain sayap Alex Zendejas mengisahkan kegembiraan tim saat mengejar Alex Freeman yang mencetak gol ke gawang Australia.

"It's all vibes," kata Alex Zendejas.

Zendejas berkelakar mengenai aksi selebrasi rekannya yang berlari ke arah yang salah setelah mencetak gol.

"It's happy excitement. [Freeman] ended up running the wrong way; he should have run the other way, but we were all ready on the sideline," ungkap Alex Zendejas.

Seluruh pemain cadangan Amerika Serikat dilaporkan ikut berlari mengejar Freeman ke pojok lapangan.

"After the goal was confirmed, we were ready to chase him down, but he's just too fast," kata Alex Zendejas.

Menghadapi fase gugur, Balogun mengaku telah mengubah mentalitasnya demi membawa Amerika Serikat melangkah lebih jauh.

"I can feel the difference in just the atmosphere," kata Folarin Balogun pada 28 Juni.

Balogun menegaskan fokus penuhnya kini tertuju pada pertandingan hidup mati yang akan dihadapi timnas Amerika Serikat.

"It’s knockout football, so you lose, you go home. So for me, there’s a change in my mindset and mentality as well," terang Folarin Balogun.

Penyerang AS Monaco ini bertekad mengeluarkan seluruh kemampuan terbaiknya agar langkah Amerika Serikat tidak terhenti.

"Not that I wasn’t taking it seriously before, but you can just go into another gear because you want it more. I don’t want the journey to end," pungkas Folarin Balogun.

Amerika Serikat dijadwalkan menghadapi pertandingan babak gugur pertamanya pada tanggal 1 Juli di Santa Clara, California.