United States striker Josh Sargent had a rough first year in England, as the Missouri native struggled to consistently play in his natural position while suiting up for Norwich City in the Premier League last season. The team was relegated to the Championship for 2022-23, where Sargent has found playing time up top and, to this point, thrived.
His best game at this early point in the season came on Friday, when Norwich City played host to Millwall. Sargent started at striker and put in one heck of a shift, scoring both of the Canaries’ goals en route to a 2-0 win to put them in fifth place in the Championship as of this writing. The two teams were tied at halftime, but Sargent managed to break the deadlock five minutes into the second half thanks to some lovely combination play with Danel Sinani.
Sargent goal – 50'
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— americanwigends (@americanwigends) August 19, 2022
His second came 25 minutes later thanks to his stellar work to win the ball despite getting hounded by a pair of defenders. Sargent ran into the space that opened up as a result and buried a proper striker’s finish while finding himself 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper.
Josh Sargent 2nd goal – End to end work for his brace
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— americanwigends (@americanwigends) August 19, 2022
While he eventually got subbed off, Sargent was named Man of the Match. The fans at Carrow Road showed their appreciation for his performance by singing along as Bruce Springsteen’s beloved anti-war track “Born in the USA” played throughout the stadium.
They're blasting 'Born in the USA' at Carrow Road after Josh Sargent's brace for Norwich City
(via @BobRutler) pic.twitter.com/JQGXkkPEu4
— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) August 19, 2022
Sargent is one of the most promising striker prospects the United States has ever produced, but in recent years, he’s seen his club career hit a bit of a plateau as he’s suited up for teams that either don’t play with the ball and/or throw him out on the wing. While he’s appeared in 19 games for the United States, his last appearance for the national team came in Sept. 2021. Since then, the team has found itself desperate for a consistent striker in the lead-up to this winter’s World Cup — the de facto starter, FC Dallas forward Jesús Ferreira, has done a nice job in the role and seems to have good chemistry with whomever else is on the pitch alongside him, but he only scored one goal in World Cup Qualifying and four of his seven national team goals came in a recent game against Grenada.
Both Ferreira (21) and Sargent (22) are young, talented options, but it’s worth noting that Ferreira’s emergence came after Sargent saw himself fall out of the national team picture last year as he got his club situation all sorted out. If Sargent can consistently play for Norwich — and, even better, consistently create and/or finish chances against lesser competition than what he faced every week last year in the English top flight — perhaps he’ll earn a spot back in the national team set-up as they prepare to go to Qatar.
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