OPINION

Why the criticism of Josh Sargent’s USA showing are harsh.

Josh Sargent is the apple of Norwich City fans’ eyes, but he is battling to win over USA fans after another goalless international campaign.

A new wave of discontent and criticism has followed another season of football in the United States. Sargent was substituted after 62 minutes of their defeat to South Korea and was absolutely ineffective as Folarin Balogun led the charge and scored in a victory over Japan.

During this international break, commentators, media, and supporters have intensified their scrutiny and criticism.

Anyone who supports City could be forgiven for thinking this was a completely different player than the one they see at Carrow Road on a weekly basis, scoring freely and always appearing to be above his position.

Take it from US legend Landon Donovan, who questioned the 25-year-old’s ability to compete on the international stage.

“Josh Sargent, I think it’s like 17 games now for the US that he’s gone without scoring, there’s just something,” Donovan went on. “He scores every time he touches the ball for Norwich; it’s unbelievable. And so I like him.

There are a few people that aren’t always at national team level, yet they may be in friendlies and Concacaf Gold Cup [matches]. But, you know, these things have different levels, right?”

Donovan’s assessment appears harsh, but if you read around social media or interact with American supporters or pundits, you’ll notice a common sentiment. It reflects the level of discontent that characterises the debate about his appointment. Donovan’s not the only one.

Many ex-pros, journalists, and US specialists are lining up to dismiss Sargent. Some of the remarks even disparage the Championship. As if anyone could score goals consistently in England’s second tier.

Donovan netted the same amount of Premier League goals as Sargent during his spell at Everton, for context.

Josh Sargent’s international record has drawn a lot of notice. (Image: PA.) The contrast between Sargent’s free-flowing performances for City and his international drought an understandable source of irritation; the striker has revealed that it has caused him to overthink when he gets onto the pitch with the star-spangled banner on his chest.

Compare that to life at Norwich, where he is the primary striker, full of confidence, and everything he touches results in a goal. It appears that, by hook or crook, he requires a lucky break on the world scene.

However, it is difficult to read, listen, and digest the volume of criticism surrounding him. Stateside, I believe it is overly harsh by nature.

Let’s put some figures in context. In November 2019, Sargent scored his last international goal in a 4-0 Concacaf Nations League win over Cuba. He scored a brace, bringing his group stage goal total to three in four matches.

That was only Sargent’s 12th cap for the USA; he had scored five goals and played 694 minutes during that time, which began with his international debut against Bolivia in 2018. Since then, the City striker has appeared in just 18 of the following 88 international appearances.

Injuries have limited his playing time with the USA, and he has not played a complete 90 minutes since the victory over Cuba.

In those appearances, he played 901 minutes, averaging 50 minutes per match. Sargent is not being given enough game time or opportunities to break his skid.

It seems cruel to simply reduce the debate, and his quality as a footballer, to not scoring in nearly six years. The context and data suggest that he hasn’t had a good run for the USA since his previous goal.

How about his service and personal performances? Sure, the onus is on Sargent to take matters into his own hands – but at Norwich, he has demonstrated the virtue of confidence and responsibility. 

Josh Sargent has been scoring goals for pleasure at Norwich City in the Championship. Sargent admits that he overthinks things.

During the South Korea game, he had the opportunity to turn and drive at the defence, like he does frequently for Norwich, but chose to lay the ball off with his back to goal. But Sargent isn’t swimming in service or missing opportunities on a regular basis.

That’s not the case. The numbers prove it. Sargent has 12 shots in his last 13 appearances for the USA, but only two of them have been on target.

However, the quality of these opportunities has been inadequate. The predicted goal rate is 0.42, and he takes 1.92 shots per game. These figures indicate a persistent lack of service, which has also played a role.

Balogun’s significance was highlighted after he replaced Sargent in South Korea’s defeat, although his arrival came with a change of tactics that resulted in greater thrust with the game state in a different place as America chased the game.

Then, in the Japan game, Balogun was used in a new system as Mauricio Pochettino converted to a 3-4-2-1 formation for the second international window game.

However, Balogun has only scored once in his last five international matches. Haji Wright, another contender of Sargent’s, has only converted one out of nine.

It addresses a bigger issue: their defective makeup. Pochettino and the City striker must figure out where he fits best inside the team.

So Sargent has lacked minutes, service, confidence, and luck, which is often neglected in these conversations. The criticism has been strong, especially given the setting.

Will Mauricio Pochettino overlook the speculation surrounding Norwich City attacker Josh Sargent? (Image: PA Images.) Norwich fans can attest that he is a player worth waiting for.

Given his fantastic efforts for City in the Championship, it’s strange that some people want to kill his World Cup chances.

His club manager, Liam Manning, agrees with that view and has urged Sargent to disregard the noise in his quest to regain his goal-scoring form at international level.

“I’m not familiar with the other strikers on the US squad in any depth or detail. But I know Sarge’s abilities and have spent time with him. “He is at an extremely high level,” City’s head coach stated.

“You can see that in what he’s done in the games thus far. When you think about it, most foreign teams would welcome someone with his talent and goal-scoring record.

For me, all he has to do is keep doing what he’s doing here, and that will eventually speak for itself.

“People have different opinions, different feelings on certain things, but if he’s turning up and he’s scoring consistently and putting in performances like he has so far, then you’d be mad to leave him out.”

Sargent has been nominated for another player of the month award by the club following a successful August.

For country, the spotlight on every touch in every game he plays in shines brightly.

Sargent will be desperate to shatter this juxtaposition. His next opportunity will come next month, assuming Pochettino backs the striker, as he should.

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