USMNT: At worst, Josh Sargent equal to Gyasi Zardes

Josh Sargent scored twice in the USMNT’s 4-0 win over Cuba on Tuesday night. At worst, he is equal to Gyasi Zardes. Therefore, given that he is nine years Zardes’ junior, who to select should not be difficult.

U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Gregg Berhalter has come under a lot of criticism for his team selections throughout his tenure. The former Columbus Crew manager certainly has his favourites, and he also seemingly valued Major League Soccer performers higher than the rest of the footballing world, and it leads to the USMNT fan base feeling riled up every time a starting XI is unveiled.

At the heart of Berhalter’s frustrating team selections has been the centre-forward position, and especially his obdurate support of his former striker, Gyasi Zardes, who scored 19 goals under Berhalter in their final season in Columbus together.

Between Zardes and Jozy Altidore, Berhalter has entrusted the striker position to two of the more experienced MLS strikers of the past decade. But neither, especially Zardes, have particularly cut the grade, and they do not exactly inspire long-term hope for the position either.

The frustration towards Berhalter’s stubbornness regarding Zardes is only intensified because of the form of Josh Sargent, who is often left on the bench as a result. Sargent is beginning to earn playing time for Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga. He has two goals and two assists in a little over 500 league minutes.

While he is far from the finished product and still needs to forge a starting role for himself at club level, there is obvious ability, something that can take him far beyond what Zardes could ever or has ever reached. In fact, even at present, Sargent is, at the very least, equal to Zardes.

In this latest international break, Berhalter started Zardes against Canada and Sargent against Cuba. Both played the full 90 minutes while not playing a single minute in the other match. They both scored braces as the USMNT scored four goals in each match. While the level of competition makes drawing significant conclusions difficult, they were both perfectly adequate options.

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And if that is what they both are in the present, then deciding who to start on a regular basis should not be a difficult decision. At 19, Sargent is nine years Zardes’ junior. He is still getting to grips with senior football. Zardes, meanwhile, has never played outside of America, still only has two truly great MLS seasons to his name — and you have to be a great MLS player to even be serviceable at the international level — and is not a long-term ploy for Berhalter to lean on.

It is not totally inconceivable that Sargent could develop into one of the premier centre-forwards in world football. He is already scoring goals in a top-five European league as a teenager. There are very few that can stake a claim to such a pedigree. Even at present, he is capable striker who can score goals on the international scene. Spin forward four or five years and the USMNT could have a bonafide star in their midst.

But for that to work out, he must be given chances to succeed. Sargent needs to play, domestically and internationally. And for that, he needs Berhalter to trust in him, something that has been worryingly absent thus far.