Fallou Fall has worked hard to find himself back in the starting lineup at Energizer Park. The Senegalese U22 defender suffered a setback on the eve of the season, but he is finally regaining the momentum that he had after charging onto the scene from Fredrikstad last summer.
Fall is still carving his path in St. Louis, but on Saturday, with the flag of Senegal on his chest, he scored his first goal in Major League Soccer.
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“The only dream I have right now is to play for my national team,” Fall said. “To have this flag on my jersey and to score for the first time in this way, yeah, it means a lot to me.”
Born in Rufisque Senegal, Fall has represented his country at the youth level, most recently during a set of friendlies while playing for Serbian side Grafičar in 2022. That recognition by the national setup kickstarted his journey. He then moved to French side Reims before ultimately finding his way to Norway, where he was named the Eliteserein “Player of the Month” for April 2024.
Now, in MLS, Fall took part in a league-wide initiative for World Soccer Night. Each player repped their national team on Saturday as part of the league’s sendoff before taking a two-month break for the World Cup.
In St. Louis, that came with a display of qualified nations ahead of the match, a tifo coordinated by STL Santos and the supporters groups that make up the supporters’ section in Energizer Park’s north end, and, of course, special-edition kits featuring each player’s flag.
Senegal, of course, will be competing in the United States as part of the upcoming World Cup, setting up base camp at Rutgers University in New Jersey, but Fall won’t be able to visit. He’s happy to stay home with his wife as they await the birth of their first child.
For some, all of that may feel like a thousand-pound weight on their chest, but for Fall, it was uplifting. The defender had already made some key plays during the first half of Saturday’s match, stepping up to intercept passes, throwing a few crunching tackles, and showing off his unique flair on the ball. It was on Marcel Hartel’s corner kick in the 56th minute, however, that Fall made the most of the opportunity.
“I was just saying, OK, just let me wait a little bit. I waited, and when the ball came, I just closed my eyes and shot it,” Fall recalled of the goal. “It was amazing.”
The performance was a key driver in CITY’s 3–0 win to round out the month, earning Fall “Man of the Match” plaudits, as well as a spot on the MLS “Team of the Week.”
After the center back missed some important sessions during the preseason, as manager Yoann Damet implemented a new system, Fall will have the opportunity to start fresh with a mini-preseason and with the performance fresh on everyone’s mind. At the same time, the competition along the backline remains fierce.
“I’m really happy with the competition we have for center back,” Fall said. “It makes me work two times more, because the guys when I came back, they put the bar really high. It means you can’t give up, and if you have any chances, you have to just do well and try to make the most of it.”
When play resumes on July 16, CITY SC will host rival Sporting Kansas City. Fall might not have Senegal on his kit for that match, but he will have Senegal on his heart.
