Coming into the September international window, there’s an excitement around the United States men’s national team that hasn’t been seen in quite a while. You wouldn’t realize that they’ve only won one of their last seven matches since winning the Concacaf Nations League — a 2-0 victory over Bolivia — but that’s the spirit that a new coach can bring. This is the first look of the USMNT under Mauricio Pochettino and people are pumped. Complicating matters somewhat is that he’ll be without some of his regular players.
One of those is starting striker Folarin Balogun. The Monaco man was on a good run of form scoring in three consecutive league matches, but after picking up a shoulder injury, he has been replaced on the roster by Brandon Vazquez. Vazquez has been performing well with Monterrey but the person who has the most to gain from Balogun’s absence is Josh Sargent.
Sargent has had quite a ride since entering the 2022 World Cup as the starting striker for the USMNT, but one thing has been a constant. When healthy, he’s finding the back of the net for Norwich City in the Championship. This season he has four goals and three assists in all competitions while being one of the main focal points of the attack. Sargent is a very different type of striker than Balogun, an all-arounder rather than a poacher, but do everything forwards who can press and win the ball in the air have excelled under Pochettino during his club career.
This season in the Championship, only Josh Maja has a higher xG than Sargent’s 5.17 as the American is expected to be in the thick of the Golden Boot race while following up a season that saw him score 16 goals and assist two. Sargent’s creativity is what has taken a step forward as he begins to enter his prime for the Canaries. Already with 10 key passes and three assists in nine matches played, Sargent is slated to shatter last season’s numbers of 23 key passes and two assists.
The way to describe Sargent’s game used to be, “he’ll be a great striker if he can figure out his finishing.” At 24, he’s done that and now is adding a new skill to his toolbox. The creativity is an important aspect considering the red hot form of Christian Pulisic who could be on the left wing next to Sargent if he does start. It’ll be a familiar sight to Sargent since for Norwich, he’s playing next to Borja Sainz.
All three of Sargent’s assists this season have been direct passes to Sainz and the link up play between the duo has been the driving force behind Norwich’s season while featuring in a standard 4-2-3-1, which is one of the formations that Pochettino is expected to employ out of the gate with the national team. Sargent and Pulisic have spent plenty of time together on the USMNT so it’s fair to expect them to look for each other in space the same way Sargent and Sainz do for their clubs.
That creativity could be something which unlocks the USMNT who have struggled to create chances without Gio Reyna on the pitch. Add that into the absence of Tim Weah and Segino Dest and the starting XI will be short on creative players requiring innovative solutions. Sargent may not be Harry Kane, who Pochettino ushered into excellence with Tottenham, but in the way Kane dropped deep to spark the attack if the ball didn’t get to him, it’s something that Sargent can do quite well to keep the USMNT ticking forward.
They’ll have important tests hosting Panama before traveling to Mexico and in both matches, the USMNT will face tough defenses. It’s an area where they’ve struggled in the past so it will be important to see growth out of the gate marking the true arrival of the Pochettino era.
