USMNT: Darlington Nagbe would both help and hinder

Darlington Nagbe has been a part of the U.S. Men’s National Team just once since 2017. Aaron Long recently said he would love to see the midfielder return. Such a move would both help and hinder the progress of the USMNT.

Darlington Nagbe and the U.S. Men’s National Team has been a curious case in recent years. After being a regular in 2017 and making eight appearances in 2016, the midfielder vanished from the international scene. He made just one appearance in 2018 and has not been a part of a squad since then.

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Last year, there were suggestions that Nagbe was rejecting call-ups. He no longer wanted to play for the national team. He did not go quite as far as confirming those reports last week on BSI: The Podcast, but he did explain the difficulties he has with international duty.

"“I get to do this for a living. I like what I do for a living. I get to be home a lot. I think the national team kind of took away from me being home a lot of those breaks that we would get. You’d see guys get some time off and things like that, then we’re travelling to St. Vincent’s to go play on a cricket field and stuff like that. For me, it’s just a grind. I feel like where you travel to play makes a big difference – drinking out of water bottles, brushing your teeth with that. People don’t really see that.”"

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His absence has been noticed, including by the USMNT players themselves. In fact, New York Red Bulls defender Aaron Long is so desperate to see Nagbe return to the USMNT that he revealed to ESPNFC this weekend that he has enlisted the help of Columbus Crew centre-forward Gyasi Zardes, who is a teammate of Nagbe’s in Columbus.

“‘Dude, if you do anything, you get Darlington to come to the national team’ because I think he’s an unbelievable player,” Long recalled telling Zardes. “I think everyone in our generation thinks he’s an unbelievable player and a crazy good talent and he can only help the national team pool at this moment.”

“He’s a guy you can give the ball to at any moment in the game and he’s going to keep it for you. I think that is undervalued right now,” Long continued. “Especially in the national team, with being a possession-based team I think he would be instrumental in those moments when we’re trying to build out of the back and keep the ball.”

Nagbe’s return to the USMNT, however, is not all good. While Long is correct to highlight his instincts in possession, the comforting role he plays at the base of the midfield, and the ease at which he receives the ball and protects it, abilities that would be crucial in Gregg Berhalter’s possession-based approach at present, Nagbe could be considered a progress-stopper.

The midfielder is 29. He will turn 30 this summer and will be 32 by the time the 2022 World Cup rolls around. Meanwhile, central midfielder features some of the most talented young American players in the entire pool, the likes of which will be the cornerstone of the team for many years to come.

Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie could well form the double-pivot for the next decade. Paxton Pomykal is a special talent, while Jackson Yueill is now playing regularly and well for San Jose. If you insert Nagbe into the mix, do you stent the progress of these younger, higher-ceiling players on the international stage?

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There is no doubt that Nagbe would enhance the USMNT in the present. As Long highlights, he would be superb in Berhalter’s midfield. But while he might be a help now, he might also be a hindrance for the future, and both sides of the argument should be considered.

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