It’s not too warm or too bright for Josh Sargent. He’s parked in a chair on the patio of the US men’s national team hotel in Manhattan Beach, Los Angeles. He’s facing the horizon and embracing the sun, the moment. There are possibilities ahead, including in the Nations League finals that were then due to take place in a couple days.
Sargent arrived for his second camp under Mauricio Pochettino as a safe bet to be the starting striker for the US men’s national team after Ricardo Pepi and Folarin Balogun were left off the Concacaf Nations League Finals due to injuries. Prior to the semifinal against Panama, he wasn’t feeling the heat.
“I wouldn’t say [there’s] pressure,” he told the Guardian. “I think it’s a good opportunity, for sure, though. Without them being here, to really make a good name for myself.”
Then he came agonizingly close to his first USMNT goal since 2019 in Thursday’s loss to Panama, denied by the post then the offside flag after a well-taken finish. He continued to starve for service in that game, then didn’t feature at all in the third-place match against Canada, another forgettable loss for a rotated US team.
“It’s not something I stress about, I think if I do what I want to throughout the game, it should lead to me getting chances,” Sargent said before the games had started. “And hopefully I can put a chance away soon.”
He’s had no such issues at club level this year. Following two months on the sidelines, Sargent returned to action for EFL Championship side Norwich City in January, tallying eight goals in his last 10 games. He describes his current form as a flow state, in which he isn’t overthinking things.
“You’re just in a zone where you feel like things are just coming off for you, the goal looks bigger for you. Everything just seems to feel a little bit easier,” he said.
Entering this World Cup cycle, there was lingering uncertainty about who the first-choice No 9 would be for the US in 2026. The recruitment of Balogun and Pepi’s form for club and country added competition, and while Sargent had more experience he was rarely available for national team duty because of various injuries. Even in Qatar, he was the starter at the position until an injury cut his World Cup short in the final group stage game.
“I remember vividly him being in a boot and us being in the players’ lounge and just playing pool and talking about everything, really,” veteran defender Tim Ream said. “Disappointment in the injury, what it was going to take to get back. You look at it now, and again, it was a setback. And he’s come back stronger for it. But in that moment, he was the starting striker, wasn’t he? And was probably going to be from that point forward in the tournament unless something changed, and it did.”
Reflecting on the ensuing, stop-start ride with the US, Sargent sighed.
“It’s been a road where I’m here for a couple games, and then I’m gone for a while. With injury or whatever it is. Come back, haven’t always been starting right away,” Sargent said.
His latest start for the US in the Nations League came after Pochettino expressed confidence in Sargent by allowing him, and the rest of the team, the trust to determine their own approach.
“He said to us, we’re the best at what we do which is why we’re here, and to feel free,” Sargent said. “There are some patterns that he puts us through, but at the end of the day, he trusts us to go out there and do our thing. He puts a lot of trust in us to do what we know to do, and that’s to create chances and score goals. So there is, I think, a bit of freedom in that.”
Sargent has also tried to be more of a leader with the US, after captaining Norwich earlier this month – the first time he’s worn the armband as a professional.
“He’s Norwich’s best player, he’s one of the best players in the Championship right now. He’s a great asset to our team, of course he’s a leader,” US defender Joe Scally said. “It’s crazy, I guess you could say he’s one of the older guys, or in the middle of the pack.”
Sargent’s future, though, is unclear. At least one of Balogun or Pepi will probably be back in the fold when the US reconvene in the summer for the Gold Cup. Other options, like Vancouver Whitecaps’ Brian White and Charlotte FC’s Patrick Agyemang, have now joined Pochettino’s USMNT in multiple camps. Agyemang started in Sargent’s place on Sunday, with White coming off the bench.
Sargent said he appreciates being the guy up top, and doesn’t take that stability for granted. His club career has given him plenty of reason why. After becoming the first player in the history of the US men’s program to be called up by the U-17, U-20 and senior national teams in the same calendar year in 2017, Sargent’s progress in Europe was uneven. He was not deployed exclusively as a striker at Werder Bremen and again at Norwich, where he was often battling relegation or ultimately enduring it. Following his breakout 2022-23 season, Finnish hitman Teemu Pukki left the Canaries in the summer and Sargent was anointed the No 9.
He’s happy at Norwich, but noted there are a lot of factors behind the decision on where to be in his prime. There have been persistent links to MLS, which he’s coy about.
“I think there will be a few options this summer if something were to happen,” Sargent said. “It’s a decision that me and my wife are gonna have to make together, and whatever makes the most sense for our family, as well as my career.”
Jumping to a Premier League or Bundesliga team isn’t without risk, either. Minutes leading up to the World Cup are essential, and Sargent is reaching a crossroads.
