Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app.The path to land the striker on which this U.S. men’s national team will entrust its World Cup goal-scoring hopes — and the player captain Tim Ream called “the most annoying striker for me to have to deal with in training” — started in March 2023 with American flag emojis and online sleuthing.Beginning with Friday’s World Cup opener against Paraguay, Folarin Balogun will be one of the USMNT’s most important contributors and perhaps the team’s breakout player of the tournament.His presence in a United States kit at this World Cup, though, may be due to the type of online recruiting push normally seen in major college sports.The Brooklyn-born, London-raised Balogun began exploring his American heritage on the soccer field a few years earlier, when he suited up for the U.S. under-18 national team. But as he saw his star begin to rise with a breakout 2022-23 season while on loan from England’s Arsenal to France’s Reims, his international commitment became a more sought-after commodity.The 5-foot-10, shifty, powerful and savvy forward was eligible to play for the States, but was also a part of England’s youth setup and was on the fringes of their senior team with the under-21s. He was also eligible to represent Nigeria through his parents. The U.S., though, had begun to woo the striker to fill what was, at the time, a gaping hole in the player pool: a top-level No. 9.During the March 2023 international window, Balogun flew to Orlando to train after withdrawing from a call-up with the England Under-21s. The U.S. squad was also — coincidentally, or not — based in the Orlando area at that time. With interim manager Anthony Hudson running the team, the Americans reached out to Balogun to see if he might be willing to meet in Florida. It was meant to be a bit cloak-and-dagger; a chance for the team to recruit Balogun, but it would not stay quiet for long.Balogun posted a photo of himself with his friends in front of a car during his trip. In the background across the street, a sign was painted on a wall in which the words “Here To Chase Tail” were visible. A U.S. fan posted the photo and zoomed in on the words painted on the wall. He identified a now-closed Orlando business called Pups Pub and alerted fellow supporters that Balogun was in Orlando.When USMNT fans learned of the recruitment, they joined in on the efforts. It was not subtle. They began spamming Balogun’s Instagram account with American flag emojis, urging the striker to pick the U.S. over England or Nigeria. For anyone with knowledge of college football recruitment, this was five-star, all-hands-from-the-message-boards-on-deck type of treatment.