Josh Sargent didn’t sugarcoat it when asked about the U.S. men’s national team’s disappointing CONCACAF Nations League window last month.
“It was a tough camp to say the least, I think, for everybody, to be honest. It definitely didn’t go the way we expected it to,” Sargent said in an interview with English outlet Pink UN.
The USMNT lost both of their matches in Final Four play, falling to both Panama and Canada to finish fourth in the 2024-25 edition of the tournament.
Sargent, who started against the Panamanians in semifinal action, failed to end his five-year international goal drought, striking the post once and also scoring on an offsides play.
The Missouri native didn’t feature in the USMNT’s 2-1 loss to Canada in the third-place match, admitting he tried his hardest in the window overall.
“With my performance, there was an unlucky deflection that hit the post, and I scored another goal that was offside,” Sargent said.
“So I don’t want to say I was thrilled about my performance because overall it was just a very lacklustre game,” he added. “But I just try my hardest every time I’m out there, and then it’s the coach’s decision.”
Injuries have hurt Sargent’s USMNT chances over the past three seasons despite his consistent goalscoring production with Norwich City. Sargent has been a regular contributor for the Canaries in the last two EFL Championship campaigns, but hasn’t been able to translate that production over to the international level.
While Sargent’s main focus remains on helping Norwich City get back to the English Premier League, he continues to keep one eye on improving with the USMNT at every opportunity.
“It’s not like I’ve been at every single camp for five years,” Sargent said. “I think it’s an easy thing to say that I don’t score a lot for the national team, which obviously I want to be in form with the national team and score there as well.
“So I’ve just got to keep working hard and try to make that happen,” he said.
Sargent and Norwich City travel to last place Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.
Sargent should get another chance this summer in the Gold Cup because Pepi won’t be available, so you’d expect it to be him, Balogun, and Haji Wright, and Wright’s better as an inverted LW than a true #9 anyway. So Sargent should be there and he should get some time.
And ultimately he’s got too many finishing skills and does too many things too well for us to just give up on him. He seems to be in his own head too much, and if he just breaks through and starts feeling some confidence I think he’ll be fine.
I do think he’s a far superior striker to Agyemang at the moment. Agyemang has some promise and is certainly bigger, faster, and a better athlete, but he needs to refine his skills whereas Sargent already has them, and it’s not like Sargent’s small, slow, or notably unathletic himself. Somebody here compared Agyemang to a rawer version of Haji Wright and I’d agree.
Personally I think Sargent will be dropped. It will Balo, Wright, and Agyemamg. Doesn’t mean Sargent won’t have the opportunity to get back in.
Wright with his 11th goal today. Puts him 2 behind Sargent in far less matches.
4 less matches.
And Sargent with his 14th. Heck of a volley. Puts Wright back 3 again.
So Sarge has 3 more goals and 4 more assists in 5 more matches.
Haji 1g x 129 minutes
Josh 1g x 147 minutes
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G+A
Josh 1g+a x 108 minutes
Haji 1g+a x 118 minutes
So basically statistically they are almost exactly even for their clubs.
Haji has started as Coventry’s lone central striker over the last four matches. Of course Lampard isn’t known as a tactical genius. The idea that he was an inverted winger under Mark Robins is a bit misleading. Haji would drop into a wide position in their 4-4-2 defensive shape, but in possession he was in a central forward position alongside Simms. I guess I would say similar to his brace against Jamaica with Aaronson providing the wide play on Wright’s side and Haji and Pepi playing in line with one another in the box.
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It’s difficult to play Haji as a winger in the US’s defensive system because typically it’s Pulisic that slides into the frontline with the striker to pressure the CBs. So you either have to make CP play defense as a wide midfielder or play Haji as a wide midfielder in defense.
Yeah, I saw that…he was more of an “inside forward” than inverted winger. What he wasn’t asked to do was hold up the ball, and they tried to keep him facing it as much as they could. His holdup play and ability to make good touches even with a guy on his back is not the strongest part of his game…at all. Which is kind of weird for as much of a hoss as he is.
Yeah, other than Pefok who is still injured, we don’t have a real hold up guy. Even Dike is better going one on one with someone than trying to hold it up and bring people into the play. The lack of a hold up guy certainly would put a damper on the calls for a switch to the bunker and counter crowd.
quozzel,
“His holdup play and ability to make good touches even with a guy on his back is not the strongest part of his game…at all. Which is kind of weird for as much of a hoss as he is.”
Good target men, guys who can play well with their back to the goal ,are rare. My idea of the best one in recent memory is Olivier Giroud, who was also a great finisher. Being big doesn’t hurt but there is a lot more to being a target man /hold up forward/ than being “a hoss”.
Here are the heights and weights of USMNT forwards of more or less recent vintage:
Brian Ching 6’1″ 194
McBride 6’1″ 174
Jozy A 6’1″ 174
Clint 6’1″ 170
Josh 6’1″ 170
Haji 6’3″ 176
Pepi 6’1″ 163
Patrick A 6’4″ 180
Pefok 6’3″ 198
Brandon Vazquez 6’2″ 198
Folarin Balogun 5’10” 146
Tim Weah 6’0″ 146
Flo and Tim are on the “small” side.
Patrick, Pefok and Brandon are on the largish side
The remaining seven guys are, for all intents and purposes, roughly the same size.
The only one who I’m pretty sure was a good target man was McBride. I saw Jozy have a great game as a target man vs Liverpool but it wasn’t his thing when he was younger and in his prime. He much preferred bearing down on goal with the ball at his feet.
I agree with JR, should Pochettino feel the need for a “real” target man the best one is probably Pefok who is currently injured. People remember his Mexico miss but everyone misses. Pochettino will probably stick with Patrick who is raw and Gyasi-esque but seems to have a natural affinity. In other words , he’s relentless and, so far, lucky. In the World Cup sometimes specialists , which is what Patrick is at this point, can get away with it before they figure him out.
Assuming they take four strikers and Ricardo comes back as his normal self, Flo, Pepi, Josh and Haji. are the four.
Timmy is the emergency #9.
If it is a 26 man roster Patrick gets slipped on there.
For me, Sarge has to move to another league and prove he can score elsewhere—preferably a better league to have another shot at the UNMNT. As of now just too many options, and Pepi and Balogun are better.(When healthy)
“has to move to another league and prove he can score elsewhere”
No he does not because that’s not good enough.
Even if he moves to the Real Madrid, Bayern or Liverpool ( places where he probably would get better service than he would with the USMNT) and starts scoring like he has been, he still has to prove he can score for the USMNT. None of this indirect shit.
The only way to prove that you can score for the USMNT is to score for the USMNT.
He’s at least as worthy as Haji. Norwich without Josh are a mid to lower level Championship team. Right now they are 11th. With him finally back they have a shot at the playoffs (top 6). Coventry City are 7th even having lost Haji for as long as they did.
In the NL Josh looked just like he does for Norwich but the USMNT does not and did not service Josh as well as Norwich does.
If Josh has failed as a striker for the USMNT, the USMNT shares in that failure.