Josh Sargent is making a great case for the concept of playing him as a striker, and not out wide.
For the second time in just three days, Sargent scored for Norwich City, this time striking twice—and participating in the build-up both times—as the Canaries beat Millwall 2-0.
Coming into the week, Sargent hadn’t scored since January, but the issue was at least partially down to the fact that he was stuck out on the wing, with Teemu Puuki favored as Norwich’s No. 9. With Puuki injured on Tuesday, Sargent scored in a win over Huddersfield, and even with the Finn available against Millwall and the short rest between the games, Dean Smith rewarded that goal with a second straight start as a true center forward.
Sargent, to his credit, ran with the opportunity. He scored the opener on an intricate Norwich move up the middle, combining superbly with Kieran Dowell and Danel Sinani before shooting with power past Bartosz Białkowski in the 50th minute.
Sargent made it a brace in the 75th minute, and in impressive fashion. Norwich cleared an attacking throw-in from Millwall, and Sargent sprinted over to the touchline at midfield, simply trying to keep the ball from being pushed back forward.
Sargent battled away against two Millwall defenders, somehow turning the situation into possession on the break for Norwich. Sargent poked the ball up the wing for Dowell. With Millwall having pushed numbers forward, Dowell played a simple return pass to Sargent, who continued his run into a huge gap in the defense. From there, Sargent made it look easy, taking a touch before expertly shooting past Białkowski to make it 2-0.
Sargent’s sudden run of goals couldn’t have come at a better time in terms of the battle to make the USMNT World Cup roster. Jesús Ferreira and Jordan Pefok have been in good form, while Brandon Vazquez has made a great case for further consideration as well. Sargent still has an uphill battle, with Puuki healthy enough to sub in for him in the final minutes against Millwall, but he couldn’t have done much more this week to get back into the conversation for Gregg Berhalter.
Check out Sargent’s goals for Norwich City
Sargent starts at the 9 again, Sargent scores again. Great movement and great finish. Playing with confidence. Should get another look for the #USMNT. pic.twitter.com/jEUQUzAcXK
— United States of Euros (@USofEuros) August 19, 2022
Josh Sargent 2nd goal – End to end work for his brace 🫡 pic.twitter.com/DkrxZ6yv2a
— americanwigends (@americanwigends) August 19, 2022
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