When Josh Sargent missed the U.S. Men’s National Team’s November friendlies do to COVID-19 restrictions where his club team, Werder Bremen, is located, the initial reaction was one of disappointment. The good news is that the absence did help yield a very positive outcome for the USMNT and for Sargent.
While the USMNT was able to look at some other forward options, Sargent was able to stay with Werder Bremen and prepare for an important match against Bayern Munich, and the result of that preparation was an impressive 1-1 draw against the European champions, a draw that came courtesy of Sargent’s assist on Bremen’s goal.
Sargent’s performance earned him SBI Americans Abroad Player of the Week honors. The young forward has settled into a starting role for Werder Bremen, which has responded to nearly being relegated last season to starting the new campaign in impressive fashion, with a seven-match unbeaten run in Bundesliga play that has Bremen in eighth place at the moment.
Sargent earned Player of the Week honors ahead of a strong list of candidates. Here are the other top Americans Abroad performers from this past weekend:
John Brooks
The USMNT centerback was excellent in Wolfsburg’s 2-0 win against Schalke, recording a match-high 56 completed passes to go with four interceptions and four clearances, helping Wolfsburg remain one of just two undefeated teams in the Bundesliga.
Tyler Adams
Fresh off a pair of impressive November starts for the USMNT as a defensive midfielder, Adams slotted in at right back for RB Leipzig in a 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt. Adams played 90 minutes and completed 54 of 58 passes, while contributing two tackles and two interceptions.
Yunus Musah
The newly-capped USMNT midfielder played the full 90 minutes in Valencia’s 2-2 draw with Alaves. He completed 19 of 21 passes, finishing with a game-high three successful dribbles to go with two tackles, helping push Valencia’s unbeaten streak to three matches.
Julian Green
The former USMNT World Cup goal-scorer delivered a stunning free kick goal to help Greuther Furth to a 3-1 win against Regensberg on Sunday. The victory, Furth’s fourth in a row, has Green and his club in second place in 2 Bundesliga.
Sargent is starting as the lone forward for an overachieving team in a top-rated league. One can see the strides made since last season by Sargent in tactics and composure. If he was on a top 4 marquee club in the EPL or Bundesliga, he is watching from the bench – like Chris Richards. McKennie, Adams and Sargent are providing the path For future players looking to move across the pond.
His assist was very well done. That being said, Bremen very well could’ve won this game. Sargent himself missed multiple golden opportunities in both halves. He needs to step this aspect of his game up, as I’m sure an actual coach and not some internet rando will tell him. But, this should also be taken into consideration here.
Couldn’t agree more. The first golden opportunity in the 1st half was unfortunate when Sargent was a split second late to have tapped in the cross, but instead just reached far enough to make contact with the ball. Manuel Neuer, now the best goalie of the world IMO, came up with a reaction save. The best opportunity for Sargent came during the 2nd half where he raced past all Bayern’s defenders all alone inside the box in the left with only again, Neuer to beat. I was shocked that Sargent chose the near post, and Neuer was ready for the save once again. Having said that, I’m proud of Sargent’s excellent performance against a superpower after having missed out on the USMNT’s friendlies.
He did a similar thing on a goal he scored earlier in the season where he showed he was going far post to get the keeper leaning that way and then beat him near post. Neuer didn’t take the bait.
Gratz to Josh some other Yank recruits abroad Folarin Balogun and Kik Pierie are two other recruits US Men could get. The future is bright for U.S. Soccer