If he hadn't gotten injured, he'd be clearly the best striker in the league. That said, based on the progress we've seen, I don't think we've actually seen peak Josh Sargent. He should have had four, and I think in about two years when his head space is better he'll do that.
Ever since his underage appearance at the U20 World Cup, I thought he looked like a "old man" striker. He doesn't rely on his pace or trickiness, just his ability to read the game, make 1 cut find space, and either make a shot or a pace. Good use of his strength, too. The tough part for Josh is those things are all the pieces that take the longest to develop as you move up. You can be strong as a boy, but it takes years to be "man strong". You can read the youth game well, but reading the game at the Prem or even Champo levels requires seasons of study. Fortunately, he's hitting that level to play the game he wants to play. And for the record, I actually think he'll peak closer late even for a striker, somewhere between 28 and 31. He's got the pieces to just be a stone-cold finisher... eventually. But he's got a lot of grinding to do between now and then.
@@NicholasSandar My feeling as a coach (limited though I may be in that department) is that he relies too heavily on improvisation. It's the reason he gets hurt. He's a natural athlete, one of the few we have in the USMNT player pool, but he's too free form, too try hard, and too much reliant on reflex. It pays for him here, but it just as easily goes wrong for him - and it has gone wrong for him more often than it goes right. He needs to work on his fundamentals and start thinking about soccer as if it were a dance with specific moves. Seriously, I'd prescribe dance lessons to him, then force him to start apply those ideas on the field using soccer moves as fundamentals. Those 'jazz' moves he makes all the time are great but need to become less of what we see from him.
@@steve13191 This isn't even a hot take. He has the best goals per 90 in the league, he's tied with Will Keene for the best strike rate, and he has the best shot accuracy of anyone in the league. He's tied for 11th in most goals scored despite playing only 13 games. He's only 8 goals back of a player that has played 17 more games. He's got the same production as Jamie Vardy and Haji Wright with half as a many games. His coach declared him the best player on the team. He's in contention for the Championship Best XI.
Pepi isn;t really a winger at all though. Sargent should be at the Olympics for sure especially if we want to go deep and be competitive in that tournament.But having Pepi at the Olympics with Balo, Sargent and Haji at Copa would make sense as well.
@@SFMEDITS I agree, especially after watching Pepi's start for PSV. He still has a lot to improve with his combination play, positioning, and ball control.
@@jamesmccormack491 I'm not sure if Balogun is eligible to represent the US at the Olympics. Balogun played in the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification round and the UEFA European Under-21 Championship is the qualifier for the European teams' entrance to the 2024 Olympics. He wasn't on the roster for the actual Championship tournament, however. And there is also the issue that England is not an eligible Olympic designation. The Olympics only recognizes Great Britain. So he could not have eventually played in the Olympics for England by playing in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification for England. But that fact might not matter to FIFA.
Sarg seems to understand that it’s better to gamble on a great play to have a chance at a goal than to make the safe play and hope for 12 perfect passes to get a goal. IMHO, he is usmnt #1 striker at the moment. But things can change. Go USA Copa 2024!
- That first chance he missed was a sitter; he had the entire goal face to use and he hit the ball to the only spot that could be defended. - His first touch is conspicuously poor in most of these moments. - After he had his brace, he had another dime of a chance at goal and tamely side-footed straight to the keeper. + HIs second goal was sharp, good run, even the strike that was blocked by the keeper was a quality near-post, first-touch strike, and of course the improvised finish off the rebound was neat. + As usual, he's physically strong, he's above-average receiving with his back to the goal for hold-up play or distribution. Just don't ask him to actually turn with the ball... He's scoring a lot of goals in the Championship, but this is still the same guy that didn't have the tools to score when Norwich was in the Prem.
Good guy to have in the squad for work ethic, athleticism and passing. He has no ability to beat a player off the dribble. If he became a better finisher he would be first xi material
If he hadn't gotten injured, he'd be clearly the best striker in the league.
That said, based on the progress we've seen, I don't think we've actually seen peak Josh Sargent. He should have had four, and I think in about two years when his head space is better he'll do that.
Ever since his underage appearance at the U20 World Cup, I thought he looked like a "old man" striker. He doesn't rely on his pace or trickiness, just his ability to read the game, make 1 cut find space, and either make a shot or a pace. Good use of his strength, too.
The tough part for Josh is those things are all the pieces that take the longest to develop as you move up. You can be strong as a boy, but it takes years to be "man strong". You can read the youth game well, but reading the game at the Prem or even Champo levels requires seasons of study.
Fortunately, he's hitting that level to play the game he wants to play. And for the record, I actually think he'll peak closer late even for a striker, somewhere between 28 and 31. He's got the pieces to just be a stone-cold finisher... eventually. But he's got a lot of grinding to do between now and then.
@@NicholasSandar My feeling as a coach (limited though I may be in that department) is that he relies too heavily on improvisation. It's the reason he gets hurt. He's a natural athlete, one of the few we have in the USMNT player pool, but he's too free form, too try hard, and too much reliant on reflex. It pays for him here, but it just as easily goes wrong for him - and it has gone wrong for him more often than it goes right. He needs to work on his fundamentals and start thinking about soccer as if it were a dance with specific moves. Seriously, I'd prescribe dance lessons to him, then force him to start apply those ideas on the field using soccer moves as fundamentals. Those 'jazz' moves he makes all the time are great but need to become less of what we see from him.
Best striker in the league 😂😂😂. This is why nobody takes us seriously. Stop it
@@steve13191 This isn't even a hot take. He has the best goals per 90 in the league, he's tied with Will Keene for the best strike rate, and he has the best shot accuracy of anyone in the league. He's tied for 11th in most goals scored despite playing only 13 games. He's only 8 goals back of a player that has played 17 more games. He's got the same production as Jamie Vardy and Haji Wright with half as a many games. His coach declared him the best player on the team. He's in contention for the Championship Best XI.
He's 24. This is likely his peak form.
Looking sharp. Love the backheel flick. good comp. : )
That first miss was egregious lol. Still great to see the kid having success though.
yeah not great but he more than made up for it
he should be the #1 striker for usmnt. He was playing well at the WC until he got hurt
We really went from striker issues to a striker selection headache. I’d take Balo, Pepi, and Sarge to the Copa and use them as backup wingers
I like the idea of Pepi to Olympics to best optimize our minutes with our strikers.
Pepi isn;t really a winger at all though. Sargent should be at the Olympics for sure especially if we want to go deep and be competitive in that tournament.But having Pepi at the Olympics with Balo, Sargent and Haji at Copa would make sense as well.
@@SFMEDITS I agree, especially after watching Pepi's start for PSV. He still has a lot to improve with his combination play, positioning, and ball control.
Use Balo as the overage at the Olympics to get some form back
@@jamesmccormack491 I'm not sure if Balogun is eligible to represent the US at the Olympics. Balogun played in the 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification round and the UEFA European Under-21 Championship is the qualifier for the European teams' entrance to the 2024 Olympics. He wasn't on the roster for the actual Championship tournament, however. And there is also the issue that England is not an eligible Olympic designation. The Olympics only recognizes Great Britain. So he could not have eventually played in the Olympics for England by playing in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification for England. But that fact might not matter to FIFA.
Sarg seems to understand that it’s better to gamble on a great play to have a chance at a goal than to make the safe play and hope for 12 perfect passes to get a goal. IMHO, he is usmnt #1 striker at the moment. But things can change. Go USA Copa 2024!
#1 striker, agree but Berhalter doesn't like him for some reason.
Somd baaaaad touches, but as a striker, that's not too bad, as long as you score.
- That first chance he missed was a sitter; he had the entire goal face to use and he hit the ball to the only spot that could be defended.
- His first touch is conspicuously poor in most of these moments.
- After he had his brace, he had another dime of a chance at goal and tamely side-footed straight to the keeper.
+ HIs second goal was sharp, good run, even the strike that was blocked by the keeper was a quality near-post, first-touch strike, and of course the improvised finish off the rebound was neat.
+ As usual, he's physically strong, he's above-average receiving with his back to the goal for hold-up play or distribution. Just don't ask him to actually turn with the ball...
He's scoring a lot of goals in the Championship, but this is still the same guy that didn't have the tools to score when Norwich was in the Prem.
Good guy to have in the squad for work ethic, athleticism and passing. He has no ability to beat a player off the dribble. If he became a better finisher he would be first xi material
He should get better. How much better is the question.
the effort and ideas are there, but i don't think he has the skills to be our best striker. loses the ball too much with bad touches and bad passes.
I'm hoping he improves on that.
So sloppy on the ball tbh. He's got quick reactions though.