Since he was called up from New York Red Bulls II, John Tolkin has been a dominant force in that left full back position. He has been solid bringing up the ball, crossing the ball, defending back, and dousing any fires toward Carlos Coronel’s net. He’s had a few callups for the US Men’s National Team even a spell during the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup squad that reached the Semi-Finals and lost to Panama in a penalty kick shootout.
But his offense has been a big part of his game since last season. Not only delivering quality corners but now has turned into a massive free kick monster that continues to splash the back of the net. The match winner against DC United, the Playoff golaso against Charlotte FC, and you can now add the game winner from the last home match against Orlando City. How sweet was it to see him lined up on the ball and use his left foot to smash that ball toward the inside of the far post and beat the Peruvian International Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. Now all opponents must watch out for Tolkin & Forsberg because either can take you down from the set piece department.
He’s also reliable from the penalty spot. He converted against the Revolution and at the Union in the Leagues Cup, He converted the winning penalty at Nashville last year to sneak into the final playoff spot, and all of this means he was rewarded with a brand new contract from the club. To see John Tolkin enjoying the fruits of his labor has been rewarding, and exciting at the same time. But now we have a scare from Tolkin. During the second half of last night’s match, he went down all by himself after a phantom foul was called on him by referee Drew Fisher that wiped out Elias Manoel’s beautiful strike.
The scare is now a possible ankle injury and hopefully, the scans will come out negative. He gave the signal to be subbed out and was replaced by Kyle Duncan in the seventy fourth minute. We all know that John Tolkin was selected for the Olympic team’s training camp during this current international break window, and I believe he should be selected for the Olympic team this coming July in Paris. But losing him would be devastating news if we find out the injury could be worse. But until we get the news, it was a solid performance against Orlando City, and it was the wonder boy in John Tolkin who got everything done till he left due to injury. I hope he will be ready for the next match, or maybe the week after.