Jerome Opoku discusses his unconventional path from London to Istanbul, overcoming a season-ending injury at 17, and his pride in representing Ghana ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

We are just four months away from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will see Ghana face off against Panama in Toronto before taking on England in Foxborough, followed by a match-up against Croatia in Philadelphia. It is shaping up to be a challenging fixture list for the Black Stars, and one player who looks set to play a pivotal role in helping them navigate the “Group of Death” is Jerome Opoku.

Born in the South London borough of Lambeth, Opoku was raised in England by Ghanaian immigrants and rose through the ranks at Fulham’s academy before eventually cutting his teeth in League One for Accrington Stanley and Plymouth Argyle. He then made the move to Danish outfit Vejle Boldklub, where he established himself as one of the top central defenders in the Danish SuperLiga. After three straight loan spells, Opoku decided to call it quits on his Fulham adventure after 13 years, making the move to Portuguese outfit Arouca. Opoku established a rock-solid partnership in central defense alongside João Basso, forming the bedrock of a team that took the entire league by surprise.

Having narrowly avoided relegation in their return to the top flight in 2021/22, Arouca would ascend to the upper reaches of the table and qualify for European football for the second time ever after finishing fifth. These stellar displays would attract the attention of Süper Lig side İstanbul Başakşehir, and after a long-winded transfer saga, Opoku signed a one-year contract extension until 2026 with Arouca before joining Başakşehir on loan (later made permanent for a reported €1.5 million).

Opoku quickly made his presence felt, playing 32 times in all competitions to lead the Owls to a fourth-place finish and a trip to the Turkish Cup quarterfinals, before scoring three goals and four assists in 33 league appearances as Başakşehir placed fifth in the 2024/25 Süper Lig table. And whilst he was linked with a return to England in the summer, Opoku opted to stay put at Başakşehir, where he is contracted through 2027. Although he isn’t closing the door on a homecoming, he is more than happy in Istanbul, where he is raising his 10-month-old son, Rome, and his two-year-old son, Cruz, with his wife.

“As I always say, it’s God’s plan, so I think that if I just keep putting in the performances, whatever comes will kind of reflect on where I could be, or where I should be. For now, I’m here in Istanbul, and that’s what I’m focused on, but whatever happens is really God’s plan, so I’ve got to keep working hard and see what comes,” stated Opoku in an exclusive World Soccer Talk interview.

It hasn’t been a conventional journey for Opoku, who started off idolizing Gareth Bale and dreamed of becoming a winger, only to be moved to left back by his U-15 coach Mark Pembridge. And after enjoying a growth spurt, he shifted to the center back role, where he has remained ever since. When he was 17, Opoku abandoned his academic studies in order to focus on becoming a professional footballer—just a few weeks later, Opoku suffered a season-ending ACL injury. And yet, it’s obvious that this adversity has paid off in the long term for Opoku, who has earned praise from the likes of Gabriele Marcotti and established himself as one of the very best defenders in Türkiye. He currently ranks second in their squad for 1.2 interceptions per 90 and 50.7 accurate passes (89% success rate) per 90 in league play, as well as third for 4.1 clearances per 90.

“I’ve really developed my all-around game since going to Başakşehir, in general terms of just being a defender. Being a defender first, making sure you can achieve the clean sheet, that’s the main focus when growing up, but a few years ago, I started to focus on a few more different things. Where I am now is just about not letting the striker score and coming back with that clean sheet; that’s where I get my main joy from now. Back then, maybe I’d be thinking, ‘Let me get a goal, let me take this guy on,’ but it’s not really the fundamentals of being a defender. The past couple of years have just been about keeping the clean sheet… that’s my main focus. If that goal goes in, then it hurts, so it’s just about keeping the goals down to a minimum and having a clean performance.”

Opoku hasn’t just made his mark at the club level, but the international level. One month after moving to Istanbul, Opoku received his maiden call-up for the Ghanaian national team, making his debut in a 4-0 defeat vs. the United States in Nashville, before missing out on the next two windows. He returned in March 2024, playing in two friendlies vs. Nigeria and Uganda before returning a year later to make his competitive debut vs. Chad in World Cup qualifying. He then started in a 3-0 win vs. Madagascar, missing out on the next two friendlies, before returning in September 2025 and playing the full 90 in a 1-0 win vs. Mali. He then made two late cameos vs. Mali and the Central African Republic, before watching from the bench as Ghana defeated Comoros and secured their spot in the 2026 World Cup. Opoku then headed to the Far East for the November friendlies, starting in a 2-0 defeat to Japan before riding the bench vs. South Korea.

“Growing up in South London, I had a lot of Ghanaian friends and Ghanaian neighbors at school; it was kind of like a community in itself. Of course, when you go to weddings and parties, you see a lot of Ghanaian family members, so it never leaves you. Now being able to go to the actual country frequently is amazing, because now I’m seeing more family members, making new friends and new relationships, and learning more about the culture. It’s amazing, it’s all good.”

At 27 years of age, Jerome Opoku has already established himself in England, Denmark, Portugal, and Türkiye. But now, can he leave his mark in his first-ever international tournament in North America and lead Ghana to the knockout round for the first time since 2010? Stay tuned for what promises to be a baptism of fire for Opoku and his Black Stars teammates.

Chicago Fire's Jason Shokalook discusses his journey from playing hockey and soccer in Pennsylvania to winning the MLS Next Pro Golden Boot and signing his first-team contract under Gregg Berhalter.

We are just two weeks away from the start of the 2026 MLS season, which will see the Chicago Fire travel to the Houston Dynamo on February 21, and one player who will be looking to make his mark on proceedings is Jason Shokalook.

Born on September 30, 2002, Shokalook was raised in Erie, Pennsylvania, and quickly grew accustomed to a heavy travel itinerary. Every Monday and Wednesday, his mother would pick him up from school and drive 2.5 hours south to Pittsburgh so he could play hockey, and every Tuesday and Thursday, they’d drive 2 hours west to Cleveland so that he could play soccer. After balancing the two sports for nearly two years, Shokalook decided to prioritize soccer and emerged as one of the top talents in his region, earning himself a scholarship offer from the University of Akron, where he majored in business.

“Akron had always been a dream school for me. I wanted to go there, especially being around the Cleveland area a lot, and I knew that this was where I wanted to go, and I got the opportunity to do that. I wanted to go in there and prove myself and give it everything I had, and I’m super grateful for the coaches and all of the players that I came across on that journey, because everyone knew how big of a privilege it was to be there,” stated Shokalook in an exclusive World Soccer Talk interview. “Overall, it’s just a great school, and I’m super grateful that I got that opportunity to go there.”

After patiently earning his stripes, Shokalook excelled in his junior 2022 season by leading his team in goals (9), points (24), shots (38), and shots on goal (22) in 18 appearances (17 starts). He took things up a notch in 2023, scoring a league-high 14 goals and 5 assists in 17 appearances for the Zips, in addition to leading all BIG EAST players in shots (83) and points (33). It was enough to see him win the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year award and become a Second-Team All-America honoree and a First-Team All-BIG EAST recipient. And whenever the collegiate season was over, Shokalook would keep himself fit by playing in USL League Two for SC United FC in 2021 as well as Flint City in 2023.

As one of 44 players to earn an invitation to the annual adidas MLS College Showcase in Phoenix, Shokalook was able to take advantage of his opportunity and elevate his draft stock. One week later, he was informed that the Chicago Fire had selected him with the 35th pick of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. Similarly to others like Michael-John Tate, Shokalook has been able to channel his soccer passion into a full-time career, but that isn’t to say his journey hasn’t been without its fair share of bumps. Shokalook spent his first season in Chicago playing in MLS Next Pro, racking up 3 goals and 3 assists in 27 appearances across the 2024 season for their reserves. However, he remained a benchwarmer throughout the campaign as David Poreba led the line and took home the league’s Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards with 18 goals on the season. With Poreba graduating to the first team, all signs pointed to Shokalook stepping into the void and becoming their next top attacking mastermind under new manager Mike Matkovich, who replaced Ludovic Taillandier at the helm in the offseason.

“I think David Poreba is a great player. Watching him and playing with him in 2024, seeing the way that he trained and how much he earned that Golden Boot, it definitely showed me that I can do it. I didn’t go into it thinking that there was that added pressure, but I would say that it definitely inspired me to try and go and get it, go and do it. It showed me that it is possible.”

However, Shokalook would miss the opener before coming off the bench in their next three matches, prompting him to have a chat with Matkovich, who told him that he’ll give him a chance, and if he doesn’t take it, that’s on him. Shokalook started in a 5-0 defeat at Huntsville City before dropping to the bench vs. Toronto, but he returned to the XI and opened his account in a 5-1 win vs. Orlando, followed by a goal contribution in each of his next four matches. This materialized in his first, and so far only, MLS appearance, with Shokalook coming on for the final seconds and assisting Brian Gutiérrez’s last-second goal in a 7-1 victory at D.C. United. He continued to build on his momentum and eventually won the league’s Golden Boot award with a league-high 20 goals after scoring 8 goals in the final 4 regular season matches of the campaign, in addition to a brace in their extra-time defeat to the New York Red Bulls’ reserves in the MLS Next Pro Playoffs quarterfinal.

“The Golden Boot is a super special award for me, especially being a striker. I think that I set out at the beginning of the year to go into it and become the leading goalscorer of MLS Next Pro…I set that goal for myself. I think this is a testament to my whole story: I wasn’t playing much my first 5 or 6 games, I was fighting for a spot, working to come off the bench. And then goals just started falling, so when I got that achievement, to know everything that I had to push through, and everything that I had to do, I’m definitely so grateful to achieve the reward. It was super special for not only me, but also my family.”

Having established himself as one of the top center forwards in MLS Next Pro as well as a finalist for the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro MVP award, Shokalook will be looking to continue his progress in America’s top soccer league after becoming the fourth player from Chicago Fire FC II to sign an MLS contract with the Chicago first team, penning a contract through the 2026 season with club options for 2027 and 2028. He’s gone through an odyssey that has taken him from Pennsylvania to Ohio to South Carolina to Michigan to Illinois, but now, he’s ready to make his mark in the Windy City and lead Chicago to success under Gregg Berhalter.

“Overall, I love the city of Chicago. I think that there’s a super amazing energy about the city. The people are all super nice. But it’s definitely a big change coming from Erie, Akron, Flint, Columbia, all of these types of cities, to come into a massive city. When I first got here, I was a little bit blown away by the big buildings and how much was going on and all of that, but I think, like anything, you just have to adapt. There’s a real home feel to this city for me, and I really enjoy what it’s all about, and I’m just super grateful to be in an amazing city like this, playing soccer. There’s nothing better than that, you know?”