Balogun and Pepi: Strikers on the Rise Ahead of 2026 World Cup

Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi are heading into the biggest summer of their careers with more than a home World Cup on the horizon. Their futures at club level feel just as intriguing as anything the United States can script on home soil in 2026.

Two strikers. Same passport. Very different routes to the top.

Balogun: Arsenal graduate built for the big stage

New York-born Balogun grew up in Arsenal’s academy, sharpened in a system that demands technical precision and tactical maturity. He never truly broke through at the Emirates – just 10 competitive appearances and two Europa League goals – but his reputation was made elsewhere.

Reims changed everything. A 22-goal loan spell in Ligue 1 forced Europe’s elite to take notice and convinced Monaco to part with €40 million in 2023. That price tag carried weight, and Balogun has largely lived up to it. Nineteen goals across all competitions in his most productive season to date underline a forward who now looks like he belongs at the sharp end of the European game.

This is not a kid looking for minutes anymore. This is a striker who expects to lead the line.

Pepi: From Augsburg gamble to PSV champion

Pepi’s path has been more rugged, less glamorous, and perhaps more impressive for it.

He landed in Europe at Augsburg in January 2022, a raw talent from MLS suddenly dropped into the grind of the Bundesliga. It was a steep learning curve, but he adapted, then accelerated. The next step came in the Netherlands, where PSV offered him a platform and a winning environment.

He responded with goals and a title. Nineteen of them in all competitions as PSV marched to another Eredivisie crown, a tally that quietly matches Balogun’s return this season. Pepi has not always started in Eindhoven, but he has grown, learned, and delivered when called upon.

He looks like a striker still climbing fast.

Premier League doors opening?

With a home World Cup looming and both forwards entering key years of their development, attention is already drifting towards 2026-27. Could both be on Premier League pitches by then?

Brad Friedel thinks so.

The former USMNT goalkeeper, speaking to GOAL in association with MrQ, is convinced the English game would suit both: “Both of them could play in England for sure, depending on the size of the club.”

That caveat is crucial.

For Pepi, Friedel sees a clearer entry point: “I think someone like Pepi would need to be one of the mid to lower teams. Something like Brentford, Bournemouth, Fulham.” Not because of a lack of quality, but because of the weight of expectation. “If he moved to a Manchester United or Arsenal, it would be too much for him, too quick.”

It is a pragmatic assessment. Clubs like Brentford and Fulham have built reputations as smart, data-driven operators, willing to give emerging forwards real responsibility without the relentless scrutiny that comes with the traditional giants. That is the kind of environment where a 21-year-old striker can breathe, make mistakes, and still grow.

Balogun, though, gets a different verdict.

“With Balogun, I think Balogun could play at one of the big boys and deal with the perception and reality situation,” Friedel says, pointing to his longer European résumé. “He would be deemed more of a seasoned player.”

The message is clear: Pepi might need a stepping stone; Balogun might be ready to walk straight through the front door of a Champions League club.

Fulham parallels and a familiar American blueprint

Pepi has already been linked with Fulham, and Friedel sees a natural fit there, both tactically and historically.

“If you look at that, you see Raul Jiménez and his style and Pepi’s, they’re very similar. I think that would actually be a seamless transition,” he notes.

Then comes the comparison that will make older USMNT fans smile. Friedel likens the potential handover to the way Fulham once moved from Brian McBride to Clint Dempsey.

“It’s almost like how Fulham had McBride going and Dempsey coming in,” he explains. McBride was stronger in the air, Dempsey more inventive on the deck, but both were complete enough to threaten in every phase. Pepi and Jiménez, in Friedel’s eyes, could offer that same kind of continuity.

Fulham as a modern home for American forwards? It has happened before. It could happen again.

Friedel is bullish on both strikers making the leap: “I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Balogun or Pepi in England next season, and I think they could both be successful in the Premier League.”

Pochettino’s call: Balogun to start, Pepi to strike late?

Before any Premier League moves materialise, the stakes are even higher in red, white and blue. A World Cup on home soil, with Mauricio Pochettino in charge and a nation expecting progress.

Balogun vs Pepi is not just a transfer debate. It is a selection battle.

Asked who he would choose if he were in Pochettino’s shoes, Friedel does not hesitate: “Balogun would be my pick.”

The reasoning goes back to the Argentine’s long-established blueprint. “If you look historically at Pochettino’s teams, he usually likes to have players who play very vertically and who are really dynamic, and that’s more of what Balogun is.”

Balogun’s direct running, his willingness to attack space, his ability to stretch defences – that is the profile Pochettino has trusted at Southampton, Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain. It fits the way he wants his teams to move up the pitch with speed and aggression.

Pepi, though, is far from an afterthought.

Friedel sees him as the change-up option every elite coach craves: “To have the option of Pepi, who again will work really hard, but is very good in the box, good in the air, to come off the bench.” A penalty-box striker who can punish tired legs, attack crosses, and give the US a different look when games tighten.

The group-stage schedule and conditions could force rotation as well. “You could see Mauricio maybe wanting to take a different tactical approach against Paraguay and Australia,” Friedel suggests, noting the heat and the long club seasons both forwards will have endured.

A warning shot: Turkiye waiting

Amid the tactical talk, Friedel offers a blunt warning about the group.

“Hopefully, they have points in the bag by the time they play Turkiye,” he says. The implication is stark. Leave it late, and the hosts could be walking into a trap.

“Because if they’re not careful by the time they get to Turkiye, and they have to win that match, Turkiye is a very talented possession-based team.”

That is the backdrop for Balogun and Pepi. This is not a friendly battle for minutes. It is a fight for the starting role in a tournament where one misstep could turn a dream home World Cup into a grind.

Two strikers, one nation, and a Premier League calling their names. The only real question now: which of them will arrive in 2026 as the man leading the line, and which will be chasing him down?