Oh, the irony: The US World Cup team’s success is being led by a "birthrighter" and foreign immigrants—and an Argentinian coach

The Birthrighter: “A Golden Generation” of US Soccer”?

First, I have to make an admission. I have never watched a World Cup game in my 79-year history. I played it as a youngster at a summer camp in Pennsylvania and enjoyed it, but I know none of the rules — except for the red card.

I realize that it is played with a round ball and you have to kick it through a goal.

That is the depth of my knowledge.

However, with the interest in the World Cup, I thought that maybe I should learn a little about this team.

And what I discovered can be described in one word:

Irony.

Birthright citizenship

Yes, its star player is Folarin Balogun, and with a name like that, you have to know that he is not what Americans would call a native.

In fact, he is a birthright citizen, and this is the ironical part of it since those who opposed the constitutional right of a birthright citizen fought and fought against these people.

Here is the scoop from a story prior to the Supreme Court approving birthright citizenship,

Congressional Republicans this week said they saw no issues with backing President Donald Trump’s assault on birthright citizenship while cheering for the U.S. national team in this year’s World Cup — even though its star player is a birthright citizen …

The fight over birthright citizenship burst onto the world stage this month during the World Cup, thanks to breakout U.S. men’s national team star Folarin Balogun, whose two goals during the tournament made him the top American scorer. Balogun, 24, was born in the U.S. after his mother, visiting from her home in London, was kept off her return flight by airline staff who said she was too pregnant to fly.

And like any child of immigrant parents, the future national team striker was guaranteed U.S. citizenship under the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which holds that citizenship applies to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”

Benjamin S. Weiss, “Republicans see no foul in backing US World Cup team led by birthright citizen while opposing the constitutional right,”

Courthouse News, June 26, 2026

Illegal immigrants

While all of the players supposedly have legal immigrant status and now claim to live in the US, the truth is that many of them are really foreigners because they are the ones who really know how to play the game,

While there are no players on the U.S. roster who lack legal immigration status, nearly a quarter of the U.S. World Cup squad was born outside of the United States. Players like Yunus Musah, Haji Wright, and Sergiño Dest were born or raised abroad before representing the U.S., drawing attention to the broader debate over how the U.S. immigration system shaped this "golden generation" of soccer.

AI

Here are the details from the Wall Street Journal,

It is true that approximately a quarter of the U.S. Men's National Team roster was born outside the United States, and all players on the squad possess legal immigration status.

Specifically, 6 out of the 26 players on the U.S. World Cup roster were born abroad. This blend of talent highlights how the squad combines homegrown players with those developed in other prominent football nations.

The diverse international makeup of the squad includes:

• Sergiño Dest (born in Almere, Netherlands)

• Gio Reyna (born in Sunderland, United Kingdom)

• Antonee Robinson (born in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom)

• Malik Tillman (born in Nuremberg, Germany)

• Sebastian Berhalter (born in London, United Kingdom)

• Alejandro Zendejas (born in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico)

  
  

In addition to the foreign-born contingent, more than half of the 26-man roster holds dual citizenship or has immigrant roots through their parents.

McGill Media, Yahoo Sports

Or, as those who opposed the birthright citizenship decision would say,

USA. USA

This is definitely not the golden generation of US soccer. And I kind of like it.

Does not mean that I will watch my first World Cup game.