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Fans Admit USA Finally Has A Decent Chant Thanks To Folarin Balogun

2026 FIFA World Cup, Football Chants, USMNT

USMNT has gotten off to a near-perfect start at this World Cup.

In the curtain raiser at Los Angeles Stadium, they recorded a statement win against Paraguay.

An early own goal by the opposition opened the game up and striker Folarin Bolagun capitalized with two first-half goals to lead the team to a 4-1 victory.

The US kept up the good form when they took on Australia in Seattle on June 20.

They were once again fortuitously handed an own goal in the 11th minute, before Alex Freeman doubled the lead shortly before half-time to secure a 2-0 triumph. 

The win guaranteed USA’s place in the Round of 32. Led by manager Mauricio Pochettino, the side aims to make it to the quarter finals and beyond for the first time since 2002.

A large reason behind their success has been Monaco marksman Balogun.

Just 24-years-old, the clinical forward became the first US player since the inaugural edition in 1930 to score two goals in a single World Cup game.

The fans have taken cognizance of his contributions, and rewarded him with an original viral chant.

Borrowing from European football culture, the Americans have chosen to reimagine a pop-culture classic.

The song in question is Shakira’s wildly popular 2010 World Cup anthem ‘Waka Waka’.

Here is how the lyrics for the new Balogun chant goes:

Tsamina mina, eh, eh
Waka waka, eh, eh
Balogun, he scores again..
We stole him from England

Not only does the chant pay tribute to Balogun, it also manages to throw shade at perpetual rivals England for good measure.

Even though he was born in New York, Balogun was raised in London from infancy.

Balogun represented England at the youth level right until the U21 age-group.

However, in 2023, he finally made the switch to the States, after being courted fervently by the national team authorities.

Since then, Balogun has worn the Stars and Stripes 29 times, scoring 11 goals in the process.

While the new chant puts spotlight on Balogun’s achievements, it also marks perhaps the first time US based soccer fans have got a chant right.

Fans worldwide think it’s a drastic improvement on their previous renditions.

The most popular of their battle cries thus far has been the incredibly basic, “U-S-A, U-S-A” shout.

While popular in the American sporting circles, it has garnered little support from the rest of the world’s footballing fan base.

Perhaps the most ridiculed of the lot is the repetitive chant of “defense” accompanied with a clapping of hands.

On the other end, “come on US score a goal” has not inspired much respect either for the US fanbase.

Similarly, the team’s unofficial anthem “I believe that we will win” has also been widely mocked by their global counterparts.

Thanks to Balogun, at least the US can now claim they belong at some level to the football fan culture!

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