With a brace in Norwich City’s 4-1 victory over Stoke City on Saturday, Josh Sargent is picking up where he left off for the Canaries. Now with three consecutive seasons with 10 or more goals, Sargent is also stepping up at an important time for the United States men’s national team with the Concacaf Nations League on the horizon.
Sargent now has 11 goals and five assists in the Championship while pushing Norwich closer to the playoff spots as they seek promotion. With a strong partnership alongside Borja Sainz, Sargent has been at his best now with a regular presence as the starting No. 9 for the club. With growing confidence, the only frontier that Sargent hasn’t conquered is becoming the starter for the USMNT. He was with the team during October friendlies but played less than a half an hour at the Copa America last summer.
“Numbers are looking good at the moment, so I’m happy,” Sargent told CBS Sports Golazo Network after Saturday’s games.
“I think coming into this season, I had very high standards for myself. I definitely wanted to be in the race for top goal scorer. Unfortunately, you know, with another injury, had a bit of a setback. Very happy with how I responded, and, I just want to keep it going now.”
When Sargent has had chances to step up, he’s had unfortunate injuries that have cropped up, causing him to miss out on time with the national team ever since the 2022 World Cup. But now as the calendar is about to flip to March, Sargent is the healthy forward while other USMNT regulars like Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi are sidelined with injuries.
“Of course, I want to get back with the guys and be with the national team any chance I get to be back there,” Sargent said. “I want to take my opportunity to finally get going with them and score some goals.
Things are setup for him to do just that in March. The way that Sargent plays with Sainz is made for integrating with Christian Pulisic for the USMNT, and under Mauricio Pochettino, the attacking intent will be there. Sargent also isn’t afraid to put in dirty work defensively to win teams over and start the break.
If Sargent can break through, there’s no reason why he can’t be the starting forward for the USMNT in 2026, so the stakes are quite high. If he’s not going to make his mark now while in form for his club, he may never have a better chance to make an impression on Pochettino. The time is now.
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