Once Upon a World Cup: The 4 Journeys of Balogun, Quiñones, Irankunda, and Ayari

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Four players. Four national teams. Four remarkable journeys to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

In this episode of Soccer Bedtime Stories, discover the inspiring stories of World Cup goal scorers Folarin Balogun, Julián Quiñones, Nestory Irankunda, and Yasin Ayari.

Follow Balogun’s path from an unexpected birth in Brooklyn to representing the USMNT, and Quiñones’s journey from Colombia to the Mexico national team. Learn how Irankunda’s family escaped conflict in Burundi before he became one of Australia’s brightest soccer stars, and explore how Ayari’s Swedish and Tunisian roots shaped his journey to the World Cup with Sweden.

Their goals may have appeared as simple numbers on the scoreboard, but behind each one was a powerful story of family, migration, identity, sacrifice, and belonging.

This is Once Upon a World Cup: The 4 Journeys of Balogun, Quiñones, Irankunda, and Ayari—an inspiring soccer bedtime story for kids, families, young athletes, and World Cup fans of all ages.

Sleep well and dream big, soccer friends.

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The Soccer Teacher by Soccer Bedtime Stories