Jesús Ferreira has admitted that he is struggling to find the back of the net for the U.S. men’s national team, but is confident the goals will come if he continues to put himself in advantageous positions.
Ferreira appears to have taken a slight lead in the battle for the No. 9 role with the USMNT, amid a host of other challengers.
The FC Dallas star is tied for the MLS lead in goals but with the USMNT, he has been unable to find the back of the net as frequently.
With a starting role at the World Cup seemingly within his grasp, Ferreira has said he is aiming to perfect other elements of his game while keeping the faith that the goals will follow.
“I know that right now I’m going through a little struggle, but it’s something that if I stay focused and I keep working, things are going to bounce my way,” Ferreira said on a call with reporters on Thursday.
“It’s about learning how to do your one-twos: My one-twos are my first touch and runs in behind, so then I can get my final product, which is a three. So it’s always just focusing on my ones and twos.”
Ferreira on being a facilitator
Ferreira has jumped to the top of the USMNT forward depth chart not just because of his goal-scoring, but because he has proven to be more adept than his competition at dropping deep and facilitating play.
Even if he isn’t scoring goals, the 21-year-old has been plenty valuable by being a reference point and connecting attacking moves.
“The main focus as a nine is to score goals,” Ferreira explained. “But a lot of people have to see that the nine can also assist and can help out in the building.”
y'all are gonna destroy Jesus Ferreira for not scoring but:
– this is a brilliant USMNT move, and Ferreira played the second-most important role in it, after Musah
– Yedlin *has* to keep this lower. And if he does, it's probably a goal pic.twitter.com/4cgtymSzta— Henry Bushnell (@HenryBushnell) June 5, 2022
Ferreira also spoke about how he adapts to different teammates, depending on whether he is connecting with a pure winger like Tim Weah, or attackers like Brenden Aaronson and Christian Pulisic who like to drift inside.
“When I play with Brenden I know that he can always play those balls in behind so there’s always an adaptation that I have to have to make as an nine,” Ferreira said.
“If I’m playing with Tim, I know that he’s always going to be running behind or if I play with Brenden or Christian, I know that they’re always going to come inside and play the ball, so I have to adapt.”
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