Folarin Balogun switches to USMNT

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A report from The Athletic said that FIFA have approved Folarin Balogun’s one-time switch from England to the USA as the Arsenal forward will represent the USMNT.

Now it has been confirmed.

Balogun, 21, held talks with U.S. Soccer in March as he visited Orlando, Florida during the March international break and the USMNT eligible striker was interested in committing his international future to the USA.

He now has, as the England youth international has made his decision to represent the USMNT at the international level and he could make his debut against Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal in Las Vegas in June.

Interim USMNT head coach Anthony Hudson said: “We are delighted that Folarin has chosen to represent the United States. Not only is he an extremely talented player, he’s also a good man who is going to add value to our team both on and off the field at a time when the team is continuing to improve. It’s clear that he values his U.S. roots and we can’t wait for him to come in and be a part of the team.”

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA

That noise you can hear everywhere is USMNT fans celebrating that they have gained one of the top young forwards in Europe as the focal point of their attack.


How did we get to this point?

The England U21 forward missed their March camp due to a small injury and he then posted a photo on social media which showed he was near to the USMNT’s training camp in Florida and he has was around Orlando for the USMNT’s 1-0 win against El Salvador there.

England U21 boss Lee Carsley then revealed that the Three Lions setup planned talks with Balogun about his future, as they planned to travel to Reims in France where he is currently on loan from Arsenal.

“He’s going to have to make a decision, so all we can do is tell him how much we rate him. The rest is down to him,” Carsley said via the London Evening Standard. Balogun has scored seven goals in 13 U21 games for England.

However, back in March the USMNT interim head coach Anthony Hudson confirmed that Balogun and U.S. Soccer had held talks over his future.

“We’ve had a dialogue. He is out here [in Orlando] having a bit of a break and training. We’ve had some discussions. It’s now just about him enjoying the rest of his trip… It has been an opportunity for us to share about our program, and that’s it. I hope we speak again,” Hudson said.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Balogun was a man in demand as England, the USMNT and Nigeria all pushed for him to represent them.


What were the chances he selected USMNT?

Balogun, 21, has scored 19 goals in France’s top-flight for Reims this season as his loan spell from Arsenal has gone incredibly well.

Internationally he was eligible to play for the USA, England and Nigeria and he has represented England’s youth teams in recent years and had previously played for the USA at U18 level too.

Balogun was expected to play for the Three Lions during the March international break as he was England’s main goalscoring threat at U21 level and Carsley wanted him to represent them this summer at the U21 European Championships.

But in March in talented striker used an unexpected window of opportunity to fly to Orlando to meet with U.S. Soccer reps to discuss his potential future with the USMNT. Now he has switched his international allegiance.

Arsenal teammate and USMNT’s starting goalkeeper Matt Turner had this to say when asked about Balogun.

“Yeah, he’d be a great addition to our national team. I think he’s done really well, obviously, for his club on loan, and we’ll see. The decision has to come from the heart, because it’s not necessarily an easy task always, to come and play in these CONCACAF games, and it’s a tough region at times. So for us, we’d be really grateful to have him, but his heart needs to be in it,” Turner said.


What does he think?

Balogun has spoken about this topic before as Pro Soccer Talk asked him about his international future in an interview at the start of last season, way back in August 2021.

We asked Balogun if other Arsenal academy graduates like Yunus Musah and Bukayo Saka being in similar situations has led to them discussing how they made their decision on which country to represent and if that would help him to decide who he plays for internationally.

“I haven’t spoken to any of them about the nationality situation,” Balogun said. “Even from just the way I’ve known them, it is not something they have put a lot of pressure on themselves about. I think it is a decision that comes naturally to them.

“I think I’m going to do the same and hopefully something will just come to me and then I will make a decision… I don’t want to put too much pressure on the situation. It is just something that will just come to me.”

It looks like that feeling came to him in March while he was in the Orlando area with the USMNT.

Premier League all-time assist leaders: Kevin De Bruyne climbs

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Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne tied Premier League legend Frank Lampard on the all-time assists leaderboard on Wednesday when his free kick service to John Stones gave City a 2-0 lead over Arsenal in their huge Wednesday match at the Etihad Stadium.

“KDB” now has 102 Premier League assists, and 100 PL assists is a feat that can be claimed by only four other players and has never been done faster than De Bruyne’s achieved it.

The assist is De Bruyne’s 16th of this Premier League season.

[ MORE: Premier League assist leaders ]

De Bruyne may not track down Ryan Giggs’ 162 career PL assists, but the other members are the top three are within his reach if he plays at least one more season with Man City.

DC United boss Wayne Rooney is next: He recorded 103.

Second place could take some doing, as Cesc Fabregas record 111 assists between Arsenal and Chelsea.

There are several other active Premier League players in and around the top 25 for all-time assists. Check the full list after the jump.


Premier League all-time assist leaders

bold denotes active player

  1. Ryan Giggs, 162
  2. Cesc Fabregas, 111
  3. Wayne Rooney, 103
  4. Frank Lampard, 102
  5. Kevin De Bruyne, 102
  6. Dennis Bergkamp, 94
  7. David Silva, 93
  8. Steven Gerrard, 92
  9. James Milner, 87
  10. David Beckham, 80
  11. Teddy Sheringham, 76
  12. Thierry Henry, 74
  13. Christian Eriksen, 74
  14. Andrew Cole, 73
  15. Ashley Young, 71
  16. Darren Anderton, 68
  17. Gareth Barry, 64
  18. Alan Shearer, 64
  19. Matt Le Tissier, 63
  20. Nolberto Solano, 62
  21. Riyad Mahrez, 61
  22. Stewart Downing, 59
  23. Steve McManaman, 59
  24. Raheem Sterling, 59
  25. Mohamed Salah, 59
  26. Peter Crouch, 58
  27. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, 58
  28. Andy Robertson, 57
  29. Eric Cantona, 56
  30. Theo Walcott, 56
  31. Kevin Davies, 55
  32. Didier Drogba, 55
  33. Damien Duff, 55
  34. Steed Malbranque, 55
  35. Danny Murphy
  36. Paul Scholes, 55
  37. Eden Hazard, 54
  38. Juan Mata, 54
  39. Mesut Ozil, 54
  40. Trent Alexander-Arnold, 54
  41. Jordan Henderson, 54
  42. Leighton Baines, 53
  43. Emile Heskey, 53
  44. Robin van Persie, 53
  45. Heung-min Son, 52
  46. Roberto Firmino, 50
  47. Nick Barmby, 50
  48. Aaron Lennon, 50
  49. Gylfi Sigurdsson, 50
  50. Dwight Yorke, 50

Premier League assist leaders: Kevin De Bruyne wins Playmaker of the Season

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Kevin De Bruyne’s gaudy assist numbers give rise to any number of considerations, and we have to wonder if the Manchester City star has ever wondered if the Premier League record would be his in a world in which Jose Mourinho found better use for him at Chelsea.

De Bruyne’s 16 assists this Premier League season were four more than his nearest competitor s– Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah — and give him 102 for his career. That’s fourth all-time, one fewer than Wayne Rooney and 60 (?!) behind record holder Ryan Giggs.

[ MORE: Premier League Golden Boot race ]

The Belgian star, 31, arrived at Chelsea from Werder Bremen at the age of 22 and managed only 425 minutes in a half-season before being offloaded to Wolfsburg. Back in the Bundesliga, De Bruyne got six assists the rest of the way before setting up 21 goals the next season to set up a move to Man City.

He’s now won the nascent Premier League Playmaker of the Season Award thrice, including a 20-assist 2019-20 season. Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, and Eden Hazard have also won the award, which is only five years old.

De Bruyne also led the Premier League in assists in 2016-17, the year before the league but a name on the honor.

His stats hint that there’s more to come, as ‘KDB’ is creating gaudy numbers. After a season in which he scored 15 times with eight assists, De Bruyne is back taunting those who’d dare chase him in terms of setting up goals (Some guy named Erling Haaland is helping…).

Premier League 2022-23 assist leaders

  1. Kevin De Bruyne, Man City — 16
  2. Mohamed Salah, Liverpool — 12
  3. Leandro Trossard, Arsenal/Brighton — 12
  4. Bukayo Saka, Arsenal — 11
  5. Michael Olise, Crystal Palace — 11
  6. Riyad Mahrez, Man City — 10
  7. James Maddison, Leicester City — 9
  8. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool — 9
  9. Andy Robertson, Liverpool — 8
  10. Ivan Perisic, Tottenham Hotspur — 8
  11. Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United — 8
  12. Christian Eriksen, Manchester United — 8
  13. Morgan Gibbs-White, Nottingham Forest — 8
  14. Pascal Gross, Brighton — 8
  15. Bryan Mbeumo, Brentford — 8
  16. Erling Haaland, Man City — 8
  17. Martin Odegaard, Arsenal — 7
  18. Solly March, Brighton — 7
  19. Jack Harrison, Leeds — 7
  20. Granit Xhaka, Arsenal — 7
  21. Dominic Solanke, Bournemouth — 7
  22. Kieran Trippier, Newcastle United — 7
  23. Alex Iwobi, Everton — 7
  24. Jack Grealish, Man City — 7
  25. Dejan Kulusevski, Tottenham Hotspur — 7
  26. Jacob Ramsey, Aston Villa — 7
  27. Andreas Pereira, Fulham — 6
  28. Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa — 6
  29. Rodri, Manchester City — 6
  30. Joe Willock, Newcastle — 6
  31. Mathias Jensen, Brentford — 6
  32. Douglas Luiz, Aston Villa — 6
  33. Heung-min Son, Tottenham Hotspur — 6
  34. Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal — 6

Premier League top scorers: Erling Haaland wins Golden Boot race

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Harry Kane scored 30 goals on the season and finished six goals behind the Golden Boot winner, as an attack-heavy Premier League season saw Manchester City’s Erling Haaland rewrite the single-season goals record book.

No one’s ever scored more goals in a 38-game Premier League season than Manchester City’s Erling Haaland did this season when he bagged 36 in his first season in the competition.

Haaland surpassed the record set by Newcastle’s Andy Cole and Blackburn’s Alan Shearer, who each bagged 34 goals during 42-game seasons.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ] 

There was something somewhat dull about knowing the identity of the 2022 Golden Boot winner, the lone curiosity being the final number of his final tally, we get it, but most of what Haaland did this season was simply marvelous and to be admired without much fear.

Haaland piled up 20 goals in a single Premier League season faster than any player in history… by seven games (Kevin Phillips of Sunderland did it in 21). Now he’s beaten Phillips’ record for most goals in a debut Premier League season.

He passed Salah and could’ve found his way to 40 if City wasn’t focused on keeping his prepared for big games in other competitions.

Which records did Erling Haaland break?

Haaland did not hit 40 goals, but the Premier League record is his and no one’s going to say 40’s impossible in the future.

Haaland nearly toppled the record for goal involvements (goals plus assists) in a single season, including beating the 42-game record. Alan Shearer put up 47 over 42, while Thierry Henry holds the 38-game record with 44.

He also broke Phillips’ record of goals in a first Premier League season when he bagged his 31st of the season versus Leicester City on April 15.

Read on to see the latest Premier League goal totals for the 2022-23 season, as Haaland looks to claim a Golden Boot in his first PL season.

Premier League 2022-23 Golden Boot race

    1. Erling Haaland, Man City — 36
    2. Harry Kane, Tottenham — 30
    3. Ivan Toney, Brentford — 20
    4. Mohamed Salah, Liverpool — 19
    5. Callum Wilson, Newcastle — 18
    6. Marcus Rashford, Manchester United — 17
    7. Gabriel Martinelli, Arsenal — 15
    8. Martin Odegaard, Arsenal — 15
    9. Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa — 15
    10. Aleksandar Mitrovic, Fulham — 14
    11. Bukayo Saka, Arsenal — 14
    12. Rodrigo, Leeds United — 13
    13. Harvey Barnes, Leicester City — 13
    14. Miguel Almiron, Newcastle — 11
    15. Roberto Firmino, Liverpool — 11
    16. Phil Foden, Man City — 11
    17. Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal — 11
    18. Alexander Isak, Newcastle — 10
    19. James Maddison, Leicester City — 10
    20. Alexis Mac Allister, Brighton — 10
    21. Eberechi Eze, Crystal Palace — 10
    22. Heung-min Son, Tottenham — 10
    23. Taiwo Awoniyi, Nottingham Forest — 10
    24. Darwin Nunez, Liverpool — 9
    25. Bryan Mbeumo, Brentford — 9
    26. Julian Alvarez, Man City — 9
    27. Pascal Gross, Brighton — 9
    28. James Ward-Prowse, Southampton — 9
    29. Leandro Trossard — Brighton/Arsenal — 8
    30. Danny Ings, Aston Villa/West Ham — 8
    31. Brennan Johnson, Nottingham Forest — 8
    32. Ilkay Gundogan, Man City — 8
    33. Bruno Fernandes, Manchester United — 8
    34. Kai Havertz, Chelsea — 7
    35. Solly March, Brighton — 7
    36. Kaoru Mitoma, Brighton — 7
    37. Phillip Billing, Bournemouth — 7
    38. Kevin De Bruyne, Man City — 7
    39. Wilfried Zaha, Crystal Palace — 7
    40. Dwight McNeil, Everton — 7
    41. Yoane Wissa, Brentford — 7
    42. Cody Gakpo, Liverpool — 7
    43. Diogo Jota, Liverpool — 7
    44. Granit Xhaka, Arsenal — 7

Brentford beat champions Manchester City, but miss out on Europe

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Brentford (59 points – 9th place) beat three-time reigning Premier League champions Manchester City 1-0 in west London on Sunday, but missed out on European qualification by two points.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Manchester City (89 points – 1st place) opted for a largely rotated side, with seven non-regular starters getting the nod on Sunday, with one eye focused on next Saturday’s FA Cup final vs Manchester United — the second of three trophies on offer for Pep Guardiola’s side to end the season.

WATCH BRENTFORD vs MANCHESTER CITY FULL MATCH REPLAY

It was a long wait for the game’s only goal, but the Brentford fans got to celebrate once more as they closed out a brilliant second season in the top flight. Bryan Mbeumo laid the ball back to Ethan Pinnock, who came streaking into the penalty area completely unmarked. Pinnock guided a low strike out of Ederson’s reach to secure victory no. 15 on the Bees’ season.

Due to Aston Villa and Tottenham both winning above them, Brentford narrowly miss out on the Europa Conference League.


Stars of the show

Brentford vs Manchester City
Photo: FotMob.com

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Brentford vs Manchester City, final score: 1-0

85th minute – Ethan Pinnock pops up to score a late Brentford winner


How to watch Brentford vs Manchester City live, stream link and start time

Kick off: 11:30am ET, Sunday
TV Channel: Peacock
Online: Stream via Peacock Premium


Key storylines & in-form players to watch

Bryan Mbeumo scored twice and set up Brentford’s other goal in the win against Spurs and he is really stepping up in the absence of Toney. With Wissa and Schade also impressing in attack, Thomas Frank’s side may be able to cope with Toney suspended until January 2024.

Manchester City rotated their lineup heavily once again against Brighton and the likes of Phil Foden, Rico Lewis and Stefan Ortega all impressed. Expect to see the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Ruben Dias and Julian Alvarez rotated back into the lineup.


Brentford team news, injuries, lineup options

OUT: Christian Norgaard (achilles), Pontus Jansson (hamstring), Keane Lewis-Potter (knee), Ivan Toney (suspension)

Manchester City team news, injuries, lineup options

OUT: Jack Grealish (undisclosed), Ruben Dias (undisclosed), Manuel Akanji (undisclosed)