Arsenal talent Folarin Balogun headlines HITC Sport’s list of players who can opt to declare for the United States Men’s National Team in preparation for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
USMNT boss Gregg Berhalter gets one final look at his options for the 22nd edition of the Fifa tournament this month. The United States take on Japan and Saudi Arabia in friendlies before travelling to the Middle East to face Wales, England and Iran during the group stage.
Qatar will mark Berhalter’s first World Cup in charge of the USA after succeeding caretaker manager Dave Sarachan in 2018. The tournament is also the USMNT’s return to the global stage, having failed to qualify for the last edition in Russia that France won four years ago.
USA had enjoyed back-to-back appearances in the Round of 16 during the previous World Cups in South Africa and Brazil. Berhalter will now be eager to get the USMNT back on the right trajectory in Qatar, chasing the nation’s first return to the quarter-finals since 2002.
A host of talents with dual citizenship can help Berhalter’s mission to take the USMNT out of the group stage in November. But the USA coach could face a fight to convince some to declare for the United States as the players weigh up their futures at international level…
Folarin Balogun headlines players who can declare for the United States
Arsenal gem Balogun headlines HITC Sport’s list of players who can declare for the United States ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The forward is eligible to represent the USA having been born in New York, but has also played for England at a variety of youth grades.
England gave the 21-year-old his international debut in May 2018 in their Under-17 squad. Balogun would go on to play U18 football for the USA later in 2018, but has since featured exclusively for the Young Lions at U18, U20 and U21 level with his last appearance in June.
Yet before taking his tally of England U21 caps to 11 for six goals, football.london reported Balogun – also eligible for Nigeria through his parents – will declare for the United States. Now, Berhalter should have no choice but to call the striker up after a strong start on loan.
Arsenal sent their academy product to Stade de Reims in Ligue 1 on loan for the 2022/23 campaign in August. He has since proven to be ready for first-team football, having struck five goals and laid on two assists over his first seven French top-flight appearances so far.
Jeremy Toljan could bolster United States defence with international declaration
Jeremy Toljan could bolster Berhalter’s defence in Qatar by declaring for the United States before the World Cup. The 28-year-old was born in Stuttgart and he played exclusively for Germany throughout their youth levels, but holds American citizenship through his father.
The USMNT have never taken advantage of the right-back’s eligibility, but Berhalter would be wise to explore his situation this year. Toljan has found a home to demonstrate his skill after he left Borussia Dortmund for Sassuolo on loan in 2019 they made full-time this year.
Sassuolo have afforded Toljan the chance to push forward and impact games throughout the right-hand channel. He has also been a key part of the Neroverdi’s unit with his heaps of energy, which Germany continue to overlook to leave the USA with the chance to gain.
New Jersey native Alan Sonora keen to declare for the United States
Alan Sonora was born in New Jersey on August 3, 1998 but started his footballing career in Argentina. A spell in the academy ranks of Boca Juniors preceded a move to Independiente in 2018, where he broke through at first-team level in 2019 and has continually impressed.
The 24-year-old is a silky operator in the engine room, who plays with great care with the ball and can score and assist. Sonora, who can also represent Argentina, boasts five goals and two assists through 34 appearances so far this year from throughout the midfield line.
An international call-up continues to allude the technician, however. Even though Sonora revealed in 2021, via AS: “It would be a dream to play in the United States Men’s National Team. It would be something special, to be honest. It is something that I really want.”
Fifa rule change in 2020 should allow Fagundez to declare for USA
Diego Fagundez revealed back in 2018 that he wanted to declare for the United States, via MLS Soccer, but could not at the time as Fifa rules prevented him switching from Uruguay.
The winger played for the country of his birth at the U20 South American Championship in 2015. In doing so, Fifa rules at the time cap-tied Fagundez to Uruguay as he had not gained American citizenship before the youth-level tournament viewed as an official competition.
However, Fifa changed its rules on eligibility in 2020, via Goal, which should allow the 27-year-old to declare for America. The changes stipulated players could declare for another country – even if already capped at senior level – so long as they met the new set criteria.
Fagundez benefits from the change stating players are allowed to switch nations providing they did not play more than three competitive senior games. He also did not play the final stages of a major tournament, and more than three years have passed since his last game.
Additionally, Fagundez benefited from the change stipulating players did not need to hold the nationality of the country they wish to declare for at the time of their last cap, as long as the cap was earned before turning 21 – which was the case for the Austin left-forward.
Berhalter, then, may wish to consider an approach to see if Fagundez – who has not played an international match since the U20 South American Championship in 2015 – is still open to declaring for the United States after seven goals and 11 assists in 31 games this season.
USA can poach German talent Timothy Tillman through his father
The United States can poach German talent Timothy Tillman despite the 23-year-old being born in Nuremberg, spending his whole life in Germany and playing for Die Mannschaft at U16, U17, U18 and U19 levels without a single official call-up for the USMNT at any grade.
Tillman is eligible for the USA through his father, though, and trained with America’s U20s in 2018. The United States used the same circumstances to land the midfielder’s brother, Malik Tillman, who made his senior USMNT debut this June against Morocco and Granada.
Berhalter could make it a family reunion in Qatar and convince the elder Tillman brother to declare for the United States ahead of the World Cup. The midfielder could offer a creative spark developed in Bayern Munich’s academy to the line-up who loves to run with the ball.
Kevin Paredes can leave USA behind and declare for Dominican Republic
Berhalter may wish to award Kevin Paredes his USMNT debut before it is too late and loses the Wolfsburg winger to the Dominican Republic. The 19-year-old is eligible to declare for either nation, but has so far shown his preference is for America with U16 and U20s caps.
A senior progression is surely soon on the cards to secure his long-term commitment after a $7-9m (£6-8m) move from DC United in January. Paredes had a slow start to his new life in Germany earlier on, but is holding his own at the Volkswagen Arena under Niko Kovac.
He is also a versatile and pacey operator throughout the left-hand channel with a mind set on attacking. Paredes – born to Dominican parents – loves to push forward and tease balls into the box, but is not afraid to get stuck in defensively before darting off on a mazy run.
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