Norwich City’s hopes of cracking the top-six in the English Football League Championship has been heavily boosted by Josh Sargent’s second-half production this season.
Sargent scored the winning goal for the Canaries on Saturday in a 1-0 triumph over Sunderland. The U.S. men’s national team forward delivered the go-ahead goal in the 81st minute as David Wagner’s men moved one point back of sixth place.
It marked Sargent’s 11th league goal of the campaign and his eighth of 2024. Saturday also marked the seventh-consecutive home match in which the 24-year-old has found the back of the net.
With both teams pressing for a late winner, Sargent came up clutch by delivering in front of goal. After controlling Ben Gibson’s cross into the box, Sargent settled himself before drilling a shot into the high center of the Sunderland net.
The Canaries would hang on to extend their unbeaten run to six matches. Sargent also won six duels and drew three fouls from his No. 9 position.
“I think the stats speak for themselves, and you see his presence and how he works for the team,” Wagner said postmatch about Sargent. “He’s a big player for us, and the team works very hard with and for him.
“You have to have a player who puts the ball in the back of the net, and this is Josh at the minute. Luckily, we have him. He’s growing fitness-wise, as well.”
His stellar run of form could propel him into the USMNT plans this March for CONCACAF Nations League duty.
The Canaries first travel to Middlesbrough on Wednesday before final matches against Rotherham United and Stoke City before the March international break.
With Balogun, Pepi, and Sargent available at the CF position the USMNT finally has some options who can provide different looks. This could make for an interesting summer trying to determine who goes to the Copa and who goes to the Olympics.
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We’ve got a good crop of CMs (McKennie, Musah, Adams, Cardoso, Reyna, Tillman, LDLT, Meloney); Good outside backs (Jedi, Dest, Scally); a star wide attacking player (Pulisic). and a solid player in Weah to play opposite him. Where we need a little help is at the CB position and Keeper, as well as some depth pieces (P. Aaronson, B. Aaronson, Zendejas, Booth, etc….) to step up their play over the next couple months.
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I just wish we had a coach worthy of the players we’re seeing.
While I agree a better “could get more out of this group, we also have to stop.kidding ourselves and point out they have to start doing more with the chances they get in games under this manager before we can keep pushing that narrative
“a better manager”
Lost, I am not a Gregg fan, but here are some facts. Gregg has coached in portions of 5 tournaments. He has coached in 10 knockout games (I’m including Iran game because it became a knockout game). His record in knockout games is 8 – 2. He has 2 CONCACAF championships, one 2nd place, and contributed in early stages of a 3rd CONCACAF championship. He beat Mexico twice with a lesser team to win championships. Both his losses were to better teams. He actually has a really good record in important games. You can poo poo all you want that CONCACAF sucks but so does Asia and Africa and team with comparable talent like Japan, S Korea, and Morocco can’t seem to win their confederation titles. Right now, he has a history of winning the big games. That is a fact, not an opinion. An opinion would be that he has been lucky.
Tele57,
“He beat Mexico twice with a lesser team to win championships.”
Beating Mexico twice. That’s a fact. With a “lesser team”? That’s an opinion.
“You can poo poo all you want that CONCACAF sucks but so does Asia and Africa and team with comparable talent like Japan, S Korea, and Morocco can’t seem to win their confederation titles.
”
That should tell you that winning confederation titles in and of itself, may not mean that much. You’ve just devalued Gregg’s accomplishments.
With all due respect Morocco plays in the CAF which is full of teams that , on talent, make CONCACAF teams look JV. Teams like Senegal, Nigeria, and Ivory Coast. And they have outperformed CONCACAF teams in the World Cup reaching the semis.
As for Asia, they have their share of weak teams, but teams like Japan and South Korea vs the USMNT? Best 2 out of 3? I take Japan and South Korea nearly every time. We have no one close to Sonny and the rest of that team is not shabby either..
“Right now, he has a history of winning the big games. That is a fact, not an opinion. ”
Winning the games is a fact.
Calling them “big games” is an opinion, not a fact.
Speaking for myself, the USMNT is far and away the best team in CONCACAF and should be expected to win every single game. Certainly they should be expected to win every final. The other thing is I believe any other half way decent MLS type manager not named Jason Kreis, like Dolo, Curtin, Porter, Dave Sarachan or the Crew’s Nancy could have taken this group and done as good or better. More to the point I don’t think I am alone in thinking and feeling this way.
No one disputes facts.
Facts are your track record. It’s there for all to evaluate.
What is in dispute is:
1. What does the track record say about you as a manager or a player
2. How does that effect what the next step is?
Also you have to put the track record into context.
For example IV likes to point out the Julian Green scored an important World Cup goal in 2014 nearly 10 years ago. That is the FACT.
The interpretation of that by FACT by IV is something to the effect, that it should have bought him and should still buy him, more consideration for a more meaningful role with the USMNT. Sort of a permanent Hall Pass.
My interpretation of the same fact is that the guy who brought him to the World Cup in Brazil , and who believed in him enough to give him his shot, JK ,is the same man who kept Julian off of the USMNT for years afterwards, citing his lack of form. Those were important years when Julian could have been consolidating his USMNT place. Missing them probably hurt. By the time Julian gets another look, this time under Dave, he had morphed into a different kind of player. For whatever reason Gregg felt Julian wasn’t his cup of tea and was not an improvement over who he already had available. I like Julian but the facts , the Track record, even when you throw in the World Cup goal, are that Julian , at this point, is a journeyman midfielder. Would I cap Julian in either the World Cup or Copa America? Sure but I’m not sure he’s an improvement over what is already available.
I’m still waiting for Richie Ledezma.
Anyway the decision to cap a player should be based on a mix of information from his club track record and his USMNT track record.
How those percentages play out, only Gregg knows.
V: green also had a goal on FRANCE c. 2017. FINALIST FRANCE. what you’re neglecting is dude like sargent has basically never scored on much of anyone in an international game that matters. got in world cup games. did squat. you’re dismissive of what green has done, and yeah, it was years ago, though he hasn’t exactly gotten new caps to show otherwise. sargent has gotten plenty of his own chances and done nada.
apply your own rules to your own players. talking about blind spots with one stareing you right in the face.
be freaking honest, among productive US strikers, it goes like pepi balogun ferreira wright vazquez. i don’t even see green as a striker per se, i am actually thinking more “10” like reyna, where we need a like for like attacking sub.
and second point which the fanboys miss but a well coached team has players with specific skillsets to play a role in a scheme. i hear fanboys throwing out stats. i do not hear them explaining how sargent magically produces better in this scheme than he already hasn’t. so sit down and think about, how do we play, an how does an option fit.
and then to be blunt i kind of want a big lunk like vazquez around as an option for cross-headers, especially if we just keep whacking balls in. that is not sargent. it’s not do your numbers look good or do you seem like the level we should want. it’s do you fit an actual playing style. sargent disappears in this scheme…….
IV,
” green also had a goal on FRANCE c. 2017. FINALIST FRANCE. ”
FACT: Julian scored a goal on France
CONTEXT: That was one of those Sarachan friendlies.
“what you’re neglecting is dude like sargent has basically never scored on much of anyone in an international game that matters. got in world cup games. did squat.”
So you’re saying that if Julian had played in Josh’s games, instead of Josh Julian would have scored ? You really need to check the dosage on your meds you silly goose. Make sure to stay hydrated. It is so easy to get dehydrated.
“you’re dismissive of what green has done,”
Not hardly. Julian has done very little to be dismissive of.
Vac, here are some opinions about your post. You are highly overating African teams. Africa has only made the WC semi finals once. That was Morocco who followed it up with losing 2-0 to S Africa in the first elimination game in the African championship. S. Korea made the semifinals with Turkey in 2002. The US took 3rd place in 1930 (although format was quite different). You don’t get to play 2 out of 3 in international tournaments. Once you hit the knockout round, you get one game to win and advance or lose and go home. I don’t believe that you don’t consider those games to be important any more than I believe you don’t consider winning championships to be important. Is it a fact or opinion that Musah is a better ball handler than Adams? To me that is a fact, not an opinion just as the Mexico team that lost to US in the Gold Cup was a much better team with much better players than the US. I don’t believe that you disagree with that either. Ultimately, winning 80% of your tournament knockout games is a good winning percentage and is better than the Japan coach who is 1-2 and the Morocco coach who is 2-2.
Tele57,
Vac, here are some opinions about your post.
“You are highly overating African teams.”
You could be right. African equivalents to the USSF for many of those countries are , and it is amazing to say this, sometimes even more corrupt and fucked up than Cindy and the boys.
However, it is impossible to ignore the quality and quantity of the player pools of the African teams. Just look over the rosters of these teams. Do quozzel’s favorite and add up the potential value of these CAF players and compare those figures to similar ones for CONCAF players. Oshimen alone could be a 100 milion euro player.
“ Africa has only made the WC semi finals once.”
One is more than Zero.
“That was Morocco who followed it up with losing 2-0 to S Africa in the first elimination game in the African championship. S. Korea made the semifinals with Turkey in 2002. The US took 3rd place in 1930 (although format was quite different).”
?? 1930? Leo Fender was 21 years old then. 94 years ago? Tell me what relevance that has to the 2024 USMNT?
“ You don’t get to play 2 out of 3 in international tournaments.”
Of course, but if they did I would bet on Korea and Japan, not this version of the USMNT. Sonny alone is arguably better than any USMNT player ever. In my opinion of course.
“ Once you hit the knockout round, you get one game to win and advance or lose and go home. I don’t believe that you don’t consider those games to be important any more than I believe you don’t consider winning championships to be important. “
Depends on the championship. As a competitive game, I stopped taking the Gold Cup seriously about 20 years ago when the USSF stopped taking the Gold Cup seriously. Then everyone else in CONCACAF followed the big guy. This is not unlike what happened in Europe with their Cup competitions. UK kids used to dream about scoring in the FA Cup final at Wembley. The like MLS, someone decided to devalue the Cup competitions. These days, they have become Gold Cup like.
I take the artificially made up Nations League even less seriously. Those competitions are actually important scrimmages because the USMNT has no other regularly scheduled opportunities to go through the motions and practice how these things go. In that sense it is just as important for the staff as it is for the players.
My comments about the Gold Cup and the Nations league are in reference to their value to the USMNT and El Tri. For the rest of the other CONCACAF countries those competitions, like the formation of MLS , are wonderful.
“Is it a fact or opinion that Musah is a better ball handler than Adams? To me that is a fact, not an opinion just as the Mexico team that lost to US in the Gold Cup was a much better team with much better players than the US.”
You wrote “to me that is a fact”. If that is true then it is not a fact, it is an opinion. If it is a fact, it is true for everyone not just to you.
“I don’t believe that you disagree with that either.”
I assume you are talking about the 2021 Gold Cup final teams? I disagree I rate Tata as a better manager than Gregg but I also know that managing El Tri often seems to be one of the more screwed up jobs in world football. And that 2021 version of El Tri was one of the worst I’ve seen. We can agree or not. But the FACTS are that the USMNT beat Mexico. By any objective standard that makes that USMNT better than that El Tri. Anything else is sour grapes. Like saying the Patriots were better than the Giants when Manning won his two Super Bowls. Winning a game is the one objective standard that counts. Anything else is just you and me with our different opinions, arguing.
Portugal and Spain were both the “better” teams when they met the USMNT in the World Cup and the Confederations Cup , respectively but guess what, better teams find a way to win the game so the better team that day won.
“ Ultimately, winning 80% of your tournament knockout games is a good winning percentage and is better than the Japan coach who is 1-2 and the Morocco coach who is 2-2.”
Again which tournaments did the USMNT build those stats from.? The USMNT beating powerhouses like Argentina?
Or the USMNT facing IV and his college team?
It makes a difference.
The facts are there but how do you want to interpret them? I saw both Japan and Morocco in Qatar in 2022. Had the USMNT faced either one instead of the Netherlands in their knockout game, in my opinion, I don’t see the USMNT beating either one.
The past doesn’t matter, unless you are IV. Every game is new game with these guys and what matters is Gregg has a chance to do some good shit in this Nations League and in Copa America. He just has to keep his nerve because, whatever I think of Gregg , I don’t want the Red Bull guy in there.
Vac, the definition of a fact is something that is “known to be true or proven to be true”. The use of “or” as opposed “and” means either criteria satisfies the definition. To me, it is known to be true that Musah is a better ball handler than Adams so it is a fact. Your suggestion that everyone has to believe something for it to be a fact would mean we live in a world with no facts. There are people that believe the world is flat, a lot of them too; probably someone that posts on this site – maybe you. Does that mean it is only an opinion that the world is round? Tell me fact, opinion, or not true for the following:
– McKennie is a better 8 than Roldan
– Chris Richards is a better centerback than Donovan Pines
– Arriolla is a better winger than Pulisic
If you think all of those are opinions, you shouldnt get mad at any of Gregg’s roster selectuons. The relevance of US making a WC semi final is the same as Morocco, S. Korea, and Turkey. Good teams can get on a roll and with good fortune can over-achieve and make deep runs into single elimination tournaments beating teams that are known to be better except by the flat worlders. It happens all the time in the NCAA ball tournament but to draw a conclusion that Africa is a better confederation than CONCACAF because Morocco made the semi finals is a bit of a stretch. In addition to US and Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Canada, and Jamaica could all compete in both Asia and Africa IMO.
V: dude, it’s definitional insanity to show up same players same scheme and expect improved results. you are arguing “it’s a new day.” i am telling you unless you adjust to past results the new results aren’t dramatically changing. setting aside i want new faces, at some point the coaches need to sit down and decide, does this style suit the personnel? does this formation work? which players are why we lose?
i have hinted at the answers. scheme doesn’t make this better. i think we need wingbacks who can mark. i think we need DM stabilized. i think we need wings and AM suited to some specific way of setting up our chosen strikers.
i think we currently have a fanboy all star team that muddles whether it is trying to shut out teams or pass them off the field. wingbacks are picked to attack. mids are picked to defend. which one are we trying to do? don’t we see that sending backs forward undermines the purpose of the mid selection? or conversely that the meh attacking ability of the mids holds back a more attacking approach like the wingbacks fit? and sometimes we seem to pick AM and wings to press. ok then don’t be surprised if the 9 is very very lonely.
teams that play the way our wingbacks are suited to play, play devil may care dutch soccer. their mids are better at attacking. teams that play the way our mids are picked usually play a more defensive formation and go for shutouts and a single goal. they then pay a lot more attention to how the 9 integrates with the players behind them for those one-off goals.
pick an end of the field you want to excel at and load up that direction. this is like a team set up to play 1-1 games.
Tele57,
“If you think all of those are opinions, you shouldnt get mad at any of Gregg’s roster selectuons.”
I’m not mad at any of Gregg’s selections.
Gregg is the manager and his job is to make those selections. He has more direct information than any of us and certainly knows more about the facts of the case so to speak. And more than anything else, the choices he makes directly affect his well-being.
Anyone can sit there behind a keyboard and projectile vomit the kind of puerile, half baked, half ass, juvenile high school or college nonsense we see here on SBI from time to time. It has no effect on anyone other than that person and their internet soccer genius reputation.
But Gregg always runs the risk, however miniscule, of getting fired.
Does that mean that his choices always work out? No, they don’t.
Do I agree with everything he does? Not hardly.
Is he “righter” than any of us? He is if the decision works out. If it doesn’t then we get to bitch, moan, cry, whine and pantytwist about it.
The ONLY person making decisions and choices about the USMNT based on real time direct information is Gregg.
Not any of us.
He gets access to the facts that none of us have.
Then he makes choices based on his own judgement ( meaning his opinions).
Then we get to tear him apart if they don’t work out.
Right about now, assuming he does not have a disastrous Copa America, chances are he’ll be in place for 2026. Does he deserve it?
Like they say ” deserves got nothing to do with it”.
I posted back in 2019 that Gregg should have been fired for losing the 2019 Gold Cup. I’d prefer they bring in someone else after Copa but since the USSF blew their disposable income on Emma Hayes, a good move, the USMNT can only afford COSTCO specials like Marsch or someone like the other JK , Kreis, and not Guardiola or Klopp. In which case, the corrosive evil we know is a better option.
“The relevance of US making a WC semi final is the same as Morocco, S. Korea, and Turkey. Good teams can get on a roll and with good fortune can over-achieve and make deep runs into single elimination tournaments beating teams that are known to be better except by the flat worlders.”
The USMNT haven’t ever made the Semis. Until we do we should just shut the fuck up and not belittle teams that have done things that we’ve never been in danger of doing. By the way, that South Korea semi team saved the USMNT 2002 World Cup team’s ass after Bruce shit the bed by losing to Poland. South Korea then beat Portugal in a game where a draw was all they needed and would have seen both Korea and Portugal advance. Instead South Korea did the USMNT a solid by beating Portugal 1-0, setting the USMNT up to advance and meet Mexico and have Cobi Jones get kicked in the head. Show South Korea some respect.
“It happens all the time in the NCAA ball tournament but to draw a conclusion that Africa is a better confederation than CONCACAF because Morocco made the semi finals is a bit of a stretch.”
As far as I know, NCAA ball teams don’t get eliminated, go home and then get team members shot to death for their failures.
And also, that’s not why I made that conclusion.
I made that conclusion based the better world class quality and the comparatively vast quantity of top players coming out of Africa over the years. Just to name a few, George Weah, Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto, Mo Salah, Yaya Toure.
We are the top CONCACAF nation and we have not produced even one player in our history as talented and accomplished as any of the guys I just listed. Neither has anyone else in CONCACAF. Even Clint and LD don’t belong on a list with those guys. And there are probably more that I haven’t thought of.
“ In addition to US and Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, Canada, and Jamaica could all compete in both Asia and Africa IMO.”
What does compete mean? Qualify for the World Cup? Win the conference title? CR, Honduras Panama, Canada and Jamaica will have a much rougher time in Asia and certainly Africa doing that.
The USMNT and Mexico will never leave the comfy confines of CONCACAF and it’s guaranteed World Cup qualification set up, which is arguably the easiest in the world game. Couva was an aberration.
And if you imported Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria or Australia, Japan, South Korea , Iran, Iraq into CONCACAF, automatic US involvement in the World Cup wouldn’t be so automatic anymore.
This is the Sargent that everyone hoped he would become. You have to think he will have suitors this summer.
agreed! He’s surpassed the Championship level for me and Dean Smith his old boss at Norwich seems to also think he’ll be in the EPL next season whether its with Norwich or another Prem team.
Norwich fans think he’s the best player in the Championship. You see that statement repeated all over their boards and English news sites like Guardian. Dunno if it’s true, but the Canaries certainly think it is and nobody seems to be arguing much with them.
It doesn’t take much more than a quick look at the tape to see why. He just jumps off of it, virtually every game now. The dude is a flat-out menace and seems to be everywhere on the field. He’s a relentless presser, he’s physical almost to the point of being brutal; he’s got the opportunistic Johnny-on-the-spot knack of a true poacher, and his movement and anticipation is fantastic. But “poacher” conjures up images of one-dimensional guys who pop up and score goals and vanish outside the box; he’s no one-dimensional poacher; he’s also good on the ball and has excellent vision and is as willing to do the dirty work and hold it up and battle for it and set up a teammate as he is to go for his own glory. The game today, late on Sunderland got some free kicks and was peppering the Norwich goal and there was Sargent in the middle of it, winning headers in his own box and clearing the danger.
Hercules Gomez insists Sargent’s the most-talented striker in our pool and I was dubious for awhile…but I’m starting to wonder if he’s right. Sargent’s definitely right there with Balogun and Pepi now for sure, whatever. I certainly think he’s a lock for the Nations League roster…you do not leave guys off who are scoring goals like he is right now, especially with Pepi struggling for minutes and Balogun struggling for form.
“you do not leave guys off who are scoring goals like he is right now..”
You don’t. I don’t. Hopefully Gregg won’t. But I can’t be sure. He has a gift for random, baffling decisions.
I’ll actually hedge that for nation’s league, but if he’s anywhere near this form, he Balogun and Pepi should all be on the roster for La Copa.
” I certainly think he’s a lock for the Nations League roster…you do not leave guys off who are scoring goals like he is right now,”
You do if they are injured.
Norwich says he still has issues w his ankle and they plan to rest him during the international break.
Right now I’d say that Sargent is the most “In Form” and most all-around complete CF in the USMNT Pool. He can play the physical game….he counter presses well, has the ability to poach, make his own shot, etc….
His competition within the USMNT have a couple skills that they surpass Sargent at. Balogun brings the speed and plays off the shoulder of the defender when opponents play a high line. OK hold-up play, shot creation, and pressing….but it’s his speed and movement against a high defensive line where he surpasses Sargent.
Pepi is more of a historical Target Striker and poacher. He gets into the 18 and causes problems when opponents are in a low block. Has shown a knack for late game heroics off the bench.
For me it’s going to come down to our opponents as to which of the 3 is our best striker. If our wide attacker options/depth doesn’t improve soon I could see all 3 make the roster.
Josh’s season should not be a surprise to those who have followed him for a while.
With Pukki finally gone to Minnesota, this is arguably the first time Josh has gone into a season ( and he still missed a bunch of it with injury) as the undisputed #9. He’s been asked to do a laundry lists of other tasks in supporting roles and the less said about the freak show he was managed by at Werder Bremen the better.
On the other hand, dealing with asinine managers prepared Josh for dealing with the USSF freak show, so there is that.
The USMNT needs him more than he needs them.
@Vacqui
lol spot on. He’s not only in great form, well rounded and has a wealth of experience + and – to draw from at an early age. Going to need every bit of all of that to make the jump to the next level, but he’s put his head down, worked his rear off through challenges to get there. Stoked we’re finally beginning to see a variety of options at striker.
rico po,
Hopefully, if he does not get bought by a top half team, he gets to the PL with Norwich.
He’s in good form now because he’s playing with a team that knows how to use him, is setting him up and he is knocking them in.
It would be really helpful if he is on a team that wants to and can play to his strengths like Norwich do.