USMNT: Top 3 strikers for 2022 World Cup qualifying
2. Josh Sargent
If you care about the long-term prospects of the USMNT, you will want Josh Sargent to win the starting striker role during qualifying.
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The 20-year-old is the future of the position, for better or worse, and with only MLS-based young prospects coming through to challenge him like Jesus Ferreira and Ricardo Pepi at FC Dallas, the U.S. are lacking the same high-potential young options that they boast at many other positions, especially in central midfield.
Sadly, this has not been Sargent’s best season. In a struggling Werder Bremen side, he has just three goals and two assists in 850 Bundesliga minutes. That he is a semi-regular in a top-five European league is extremely positive, but Sargent needs to avoid injury after tearing his hamstring mid-season and get a full-time run of starts.
For the USMNT, his performances have been inconsistent. Five goals in 12 caps is not too shoddy at all, but all three of his goals under Berhalter came against a hapless Cuba in the Nations League. He started four of the last five games in 2019, which is encouraging, during which he scored his three calendar goals on the international stage, but is he ready to lead the line on a consistent basis? That is still up in the air.