It proved to be a memorable year for the U.S. men’s national team in 2021, and the success earned by the team also featured some wonderfully-taken goals by the growing crop of players.
The USMNT marched its way to a pair of trophies this year, defeating rivals Mexico in both the Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup Finals. In addition, Gregg Berhalter’s team also put itself in a good position to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, currently sitting in second place through eight matches played.
Sergino Dest, Christian Pulisic, and Ricardo Pepi all delivered some top moments for the Americans this calendar year and were well deserving of being in the top 10 for their finishes in some of the most important matches to date. Jordan Pefok, Brenden Aaronson, and Weston McKennie also celebrated international goals this year, joining their teammates on the lengthy list of choices.
Our final Top 10 takes into account the degree of difficulty of the goal, and the importance of the goal. There were some important goals that didn’t make the cut though, as we looked to ensure that some of the best actual finishes made it onto the list.
Here is a closer look at the top 10 goals scored by the USMNT in 2021:
1. Sergino Dest vs. Costa Rica
2. Christian Pulisic vs. Mexico
3. Miles Robinson vs. Mexico
4. Tim Weah vs. Jamaica
5. Sergino Dest vs. Jamaica
6. Ricardo Pepi vs. Honduras
7. Jordan Pefok vs. Honduras
8. Weston McKennie vs. Mexico
9. Reggie Cannon vs. Costa Rica
10. Daryl Dike vs. Martinique
What did you think of the selections? Which USMNT goal was your favorite in 2021? Which goal didn’t make the list that you feel deserved to be included?
Share your thoughts below.
Based on these videos, Dest would seem to be our best striker, LOL.
The Dest goals were class/spectacular finishes. Pulisic goal against Mexico in WCQ, was a beautiful run off the defenders back shoulder and a well hit cross by Weah.
Re-watching these plays emphasized how far our player pool has come talent wise and how intelligent our players have become.
Pulisic, Reyna, Dest, Weah, and Aaronson understanding of space and their movements on, and off the ball are top notch. We may lack a decisive, clinical #9 but with the industry we’ve got in midfield and the IQ we have out wide we are still going to be a dangerous opponent once we’ve had a bit more time to build chemistry.
The variety of types of goals and goalscorers is so exciting. I remember a time when all 10 of these would be have been a donovan/dempsey goal/assist.