Balogun rejoins the USMNT without a Ligue 1 start and with his FIFA probation running

Folarin Balogun left the World Cup as the United States' top scorer. He arrives at his first USMNT camp since then without a single Ligue 1 start this season. According to ESPN's numbers, the Monaco striker has made six league appearances, all off the bench, with one goal and nine shots, and he will face Haiti in the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals while FIFA's one-year probation from his World Cup red card is still in effect.

Balogun scored twice in the opening win over Paraguay and again against Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the Bosnia game also brought a red card. FIFA later set aside the suspension for the round of 16 and instead placed him on a one-year probation, under which the ban "remains dormant" and is activated only if he commits another offense of similar nature and gravity in that period.

Then came the transfer that didn't happen. On deadline day, Balogun pulled out of a move from Monaco to Everton after a long visit to the club's training ground and a medical he felt was improperly handled, as The Guardian reported.

Back in the principality, coach Filipe Luís has preferred 20-year-old German youth international Paris Brunner. Balogun's only league goal came on Nov. 1, when he replaced Brunner at halftime at Paris FC and turned in a low cross from Vanderson in a 3-1 loss. Last season he scored 13 times in Ligue 1, fourth-most in the league.

He was originally left out of Monaco's Conference League squad. After the goal at Paris FC, the club added him to the list, with Ansu Fati sidelined for about two months according to L'Équipe, and on Nov. 5 Balogun got his first start of the season in a 2-0 win. Three days later he was back on the bench for a 1-1 draw.

Interest has not gone away. Juventus are among the clubs considering a move for him in January, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, and The Guardian has reported that many expect him to leave Monaco in the winter window.

Mauricio Pochettino brought Balogun back together with Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie for the first time since the World Cup. "It is a great opportunity to keep helping him to evolve after a tough summer after the World Cup," the coach said when he named the roster. He also made clear Balogun is not the only option up front: "The combination [at striker] between Balo, Ellis and Hall is perfect."

Orlando City's Justin Ellis and Red Bull New York's Julian Hall are starting and scoring in MLS, which Balogun definately is not doing in France. For a striker who needs minutes, the two games against Haiti may be the best chance he has had since July to remind people what he did at the World Cup.

The series opens Saturday, Nov. 14, at 4:30 p.m. ET at Nu Stadium in Miami, where Haiti will play their home leg because of security concerns in Haiti, and finishes Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. ET at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati. The U.S. has reached the final four in each of the previous four editions of the competition, the winner goes to the final four at SoFi Stadium in late March, and the competition doubles as qualifying for next summer's Gold Cup.