Josh Sargent's momentum: could it take him to Qatar?

This afternoon in Cologne, Germany, Josh Sargent sat with US Media to discuss his recent form & the long journey back to the US National Team. Notes and quotes from the roundtable.

Josh Sargent has rejoined the US Men’s National Team in Cologne, making a pivotal return to the squad for the first time in a year and with just 9 weeks to go before the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This afternoon in a hotel along the Rhine River, Sargent sat around a conference table with US media to discuss his journey back.

“Feels good, I miss it a little bit” Sargent said, laughing, about being back in Germany, “didn’t think I would, but I actually did miss it.” 

Last time we saw Sargent, he’d clocked 116 minutes across three World Cup Qualifying matches in September 2021, playing in El Salvador, Tennessee, and Honduras. He started both matches outside home soil and ran in for the final 7 minutes against Canada in Nashville, replacing Jordan Pefok. 

Sargent was yanked at halftime against Honduras- the third match of the three- during a particularly tense qualifying moment, with the squad down 1 on the road and staring down the barrel of a horrific start to a World Cup redemption campaign. He hasn’t been seen since. 

“I think nobody is happy not being called into the National Team. I understand at the same time, I was playing in a good league but not scoring many goals. It was frustrating. I knew I just had to keep my head down, keep working hard. I had a good start to this season. It’s been a fight, but I’m glad to be back.”

Sargent’s descent from presumed US starting striker to absentee depth option likely has less to do with that first window (though his performances were indeed lackluster, and had been that summer as well) and more to do with a relegation year at Norwich. It was a difficult period, he was playing out of position, and struggling for form with a club on its way out of the Prem. 

Sargent discussed watching the qualification process from afar, and conversations with Gregg Berhalter as he was left off the roster for the final four windows: 

“Of course I was keeping up on everything” (the qualification process) “I spoke with Gregg, and his point was I wasn’t getting many minutes at striker, I was playing on the wing a lot, and just wasn’t scoring goals. If I wanted to be called back in, I think the biggest thing was get minutes at striker and start scoring again, which obviously I have been doing so far this season.”

As he watched qualification from afar, we asked Josh if he’d ever felt as though his World Cup opportunity had slipped- or was slipping- away:

“I would just say it was just a frustrating time. I was trying to think about the situation I was in in Norwich and not so much about National Team. If I start performing better, if the team starts performing better in my club setting, I’ll get the chances with National Team eventually. It was very important for me coming into this season- into the Championship- to get off to a good start and to put myself back in the picture.” 

During dark days of scoreless bouts on the wing, floundering on a team in a relegation battle, fighting the resounding echo of no calls from the USA, Sargent said he rebuilt his confidence by focusing on achievable goals that would build toward success:

“...taking little things from the games. Having things going into the game you want to accomplish- not necessarily win the game in general- but little things throughout the game, setting benchmarks for yourself and if you complete those little tasks you’ll keep getting better and better.”

One of those “little things”, it turns out, might have been getting jacked. Sargent said he’d noticed immediately how physical the Prem was, and made a point to spend a lot of time in the gym. Responding to a comment that he looked stronger:

“I don’t want to brag or anything…” he began, as the room laughed, “during my injury at the end of last season with the Prem, I made it a goal for myself and with the athletic department at Norwich that, I realize these guys are pretty big and strong in the Prem, so I made it a goal of mine to hit the gym a bit more and try to work on that.”

On whether his newfound strength will impact the striker race, “It’s Gregg’s decision, I don’t know if that will be a big factor to him or not… but I’ll use it to my advantage.” 

A large portion of our conversation with Josh had to do with positioning on the field, the impact of being played out of your preferred position, and confidence – the confidence it takes to earn your way back to your natural position, and the confidence gained once you excel there. 

Sargent is a striker, but getting pushed to the wing is something he’s battled in Bundesliga with Bremen, as well as with Norwich:

“I had a little bit of experience in Bremen already, they were pushing me out on the wing when I had to. I’m a team player. I’m not one to say ‘no I’m not going to play winger’ if a coach wants me to play there.” 

It’s clear Sargent is willing to be- but doesn’t want to be- a winger. Nor does he see himself as one. That being said, he highlighted more than once the invaluable experience gained from playing in the Premier League, no matter where you are positionally: 

“Learning a new position, it’s not where I feel the most comfortable, but at the same time I was getting playing time in the Prem, in the best league in the world, so I wasn’t going to complain too much... In the end I think I feel the most free, I feel the most confident when I get to play striker.” 

This season, Norwich is playing in the English Championship, having been relegated from the top flight last season. In part due to Teemu Puuki’s injury, Sargent finally took hold of the striker position and started banging in some goals.

Sargent has notched 6 goals and 1 assist this season:

“I wanted to be playing striker, so when I got that opportunity I knew I had to take it. (I was) thinking: ‘do I still have my touch? I don’t know. I haven’t played there in awhile’ so it felt amazing to score that first game I got the chance. It started just coming back to me- the goal scoring touch.”

Puuki is back in the picture, which means Sargent is back on the wing. We talked with Josh about where he’s playing, and what the expectation is moving forward:

“Now it’s a little bit of a different situation. Puuki is obviously a great striker and a legend there. I think even if I’m just playing on the wing now, I think there’s an understanding between me and the coach- and the team also- that I’ll be playing a little bit more as a second striker, tucked in more on the inside, and not playing kind of a true winger role.”

Sargent has been able to work his way into goal scoring rhythm, and he’s been getting more minutes at striker. His battle to stay in that role will continue, and ironically, may even have continued on to USMNT training this week… When I asked him about the clip of him making the rounds on twitter- which has some fans excited about his form- he laughed, immediately knew the clip I meant, and said: 

“Yeah, I was actually playing on the wing in that clip… which allowed me to cross it to Pepi” (who was playing striker) “It was a little 8 v 8 at the end of training, which allowed us to play freely. I’m feeling confident.”

It is surely not an opportunity unnoticed, or a pressure not felt, that this next week will have an inordinate impact on Sargent’s career. Of the three strikers in camp, Jesus Ferreira is assuredly on the plane to Qatar. Sargent and Pepi are vying for a spot, and there may or may not be room for both of them. 

Sargent said he tries not to put pressure on himself, but he talked a lot about confidence. It’s clear he’s got it now, and it’s something he’s ready to ride to Qatar: 

“I think it’s huge for a striker to get that confidence. Everybody has seen me go through relegation and not scoring. It’s hard. You want to be scoring, you want to be called into camp. One of the biggest things in football is to stay as confident as you can, to still believe in yourself when things aren’t going right. And when things are going right and you’re scoring, to ride that wave out and continue with that momentum as long as you can”. 

With 6 goals and 1 assist across 10 appearances with Norwich this season, Sargent’s found that momentum: 

“I haven’t had a season like this in terms of getting a lot of scoring chances, getting minutes at striker like I have this season so far. Confidence is at an all-time high at the moment. Like I said, I’m just trying to keep that momentum going as long as possible, keep scoring goals.”