USMNT’s World Cup Striker Competition Heats Up

With Jordan Pefok, Josh Sargent and Haji Wright hitting purple patches of form at their clubs, things are looking up at a position considered a World Cup weakness for the U.S.

For the longest time, the narrative about the U.S. men’s national team striker pool has been about the dearth of options for the World Cup and that it’s an area of weakness. But an early-season charge for a pair of players abroad, coupled with the continued good form of some MLS-based counterparts, might render that obsolete. 

Josh Sargent’s double for Norwich City on Friday, on the heels of his first goal of the season three days prior, has put the 22-year-old back in frame, while Jordan Pefok’s goal for Union Berlin vs. RB Leipzig on Saturday continued his strong start at his new Bundesliga club. Later Saturday, Haji Wright netted a double in Turkey for Antalyaspor, with a first-half penalty and deflected chip in second-half stoppage time adding to an unusually prolific weekend.

Now, a few solid performances do not suddenly result in a ticket to the World Cup, and U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter has plenty more data points to pull from when making his decisions. But given the discussion—and frustration—centered around the position, it certainly helps to have some more reliable options. 

In MLS, Jesús Ferreira has been a constant all season for FC Dallas (combining with fellow World Cup hopeful Paul Arriola to a successful degree), and with his expanded U.S. role during World Cup qualifying and his four-goal performance in the Concacaf Nations League vs. Grenada, you would expect that he’s presently at the top of the depth chart. But Brandon Vázquez’s scorching form with FC Cincinnati (15 goals, tied with Ferreira for second-most in MLS) could warrant him a look in next month’s final pre-World Cup camp, and the same goes for Jeremy Ebobisse (14 goals, five in his last eight matches), who plays for San Jose, the club where USMNT assistant coach Luchi Gonzalez will be taking charge after the World Cup is over. Depending on how far Berhalter wants to expand his pool before making his final cut to 26 for Qatar, all could get a final audition in U.S. camp.

But it’s the European-based players snatching the most recent headlines. First it was Sargent, who has largely been played out of position on the wing at Norwich but is getting a run at center forward with Teemu Pukki out injured. He has made good on that chance, scoring in a diverse array of manners for his three goals this week.

The first, vs. Huddersfield Town, was a towering header in the box. The second, vs. Millwall, came via smooth combination play at the edge of the area capped by a great right-footed finish, while the third was a clinical and simple shot after he persevered through what appeared to be a foul and completed his run on the counterattack. It’s easy to forget that he actually started two of the USMNT’s first three World Cup qualifiers before falling out of the picture. Perhaps this run is what secures his return.

“I think any striker would tell you it feels good when you’re scoring goals, so I’m full of confidence right now,” said Sargent, who has already surpassed last season’s personal league goal tally (two) in this week alone. “It feels good to be playing striker again and I’ve definitely taken my opportunity when I’ve been given it and hopefully I can keep scoring goals.”

As for Pefok, his second Bundesliga goal of the season and third in all competitions demonstrated awareness and incisiveness on the counter, as he peeled off his defender and delivered a confident finish to open the scoring. If there were any question regarding whether his golden-boot-winning form from Switzerland would translate to a higher level, he’s done a decent job of providing the answer in the early going. (He also assisted on Union Berlin’s second goal Saturday.)

All of this doesn’t suddenly mean the Great Striker Search of 2022 is over. It’s easy to be reactive, but there are still three months before the first ball is kicked in Qatar and form can be fleeting. Plus, Berhalter has made it clear that he’s not just looking for players who can be productive at their clubs but players who also fit the specific profile of what he’s looking for at a given position. For the first time in a while, though, it seems as if the U.S. at least has some in-form forward options (and if Ricardo Pepi can manage to finally break through at Augsburg and if Wright can keep scoring at Antalyaspor, where he’s playing under Sargent’s former Werder Bremen teammate, Nuri Şahin, things will get really interesting). And that’s something worth savoring for Berhalter and his staff as they contemplate the makeup of their most important squad choice of this cycle.

Watch soccer live with fuboTV: Start a free trial today!