Adams and Moffi Celebrate Balogun's World Cup Success

Super Eagles strikers Akor Adams and Terem Moffi have praised Folarin Balogun after he scored two goals to help the United States beat Paraguay 4-1 in their 2026 FIFA World Cup opener in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Balogun, who was born in Brooklyn to Nigerian parents and grew up in London, had an impressive game for the co-hosts. He scored two goals in the first half and won the Man of the Match award. The home crowd loved every moment of it.

Adams and Moffi both shared their excitement on Instagram. Adams added a star and heart emoji to show his support for Balogun’s performance. Moffi expressed his joy more openly, posting “Balo!!!!” along with fire emojis to share his excitement.

Balogun's achievement is significant. He became the first player from the United States men's national team to score two goals in a World Cup match since the first tournament in 1930.

After the match, the Monaco forward talked about a night that confirmed his choice to play for the United States instead of Nigeria or England. “A real dream, it’s a dreamy night,” Balogun said. “I’ve not been able to take it all in. I’m sure when I get back to my hotel, I’m going to be able to be in the moment and experience how much of an amazing night this is.

“When I committed, I’ve always said the fans gave me so much motivation, showed me so much support. For me, the most important thing has always been to repay that. I feel like today is a great opportunity, and I just want to continue to show the fans I made the right decision. I’m completely proud, and I want to continue to make the fans proud as well.”

He has scored 11 goals in 28 matches for the US team, including the two goals against Paraguay. At Monaco, he has also done well, netting 19 goals this season and earning the club’s player of the season award.

US captain Tim Ream shared his thoughts on what Balogun brings to the team. “His movement in behind and getting himself in the goalscoring positions is something that we’ve been crying out for for a long time with the team. He’s probably the most annoying striker for me to have to deal with in training because he is so quick with his movements, physically strong and able to seemingly glide past people,” Ream said.

“I visualised my debut in the World Cup scoring, but the reality did surpass that of scoring two goals. And the second goal was a fantastic goal as well,” Balogun added.