Folarin Balogun, who could have played for England or Nigeria, scores 2 for US in World Cup debut

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Folarin Balogun could have played for any one of three countries. He chose the United States, and it paid off with a splashy World Cup debut on home soil.

The 24-year-old striker scored two goals as the Americans opened with a 4-1 victory Paraguay on Friday night in front of a rabid and star-studded red, white and blue-clad sold-out crowd of 70,492 at SoFi Stadium.

With retired England captain David Beckham looking on, Balogun became the first U.S. player to score multiple goals in a World Cup game since 1930. Back then, Bert Patenaude scored all three goals in a 3-0 U.S. win over Paraguay, the first hat trick in World Cup history.

Balogun was born in the New York borough of Brooklyn to Nigerian parents. A month later, he moved to England, where he grew up in London. He joined Arsenal’s academy at age 8. He represented England at the youth level and also played for the U.S. under-18 team.

England’s roster is traditionally filled with stars. Nigeria failed to qualify for this World Cup. So Balogun is making himself an American household name during this summer of soccer.

The U.S. took a 1-0 lead on an own goal by Damian Bobadilla.

Balogun extended the lead to 2-0 when Christian Pulisic played the ball into the box to set up Balogun with his 21st career assist. That tied Pulisic for fourth most in U.S. history.

Minutes earlier, Balogun nearly had another goal, but it was called back when the U.S. was offside.

Undeterred, Balogun scored again just before halftime, putting the ball in the upper left corner for a 3-0 lead.

AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup