'Best Foot Forward': U.S. Men's Striker Role at World Cup Still Wide Open

Josh Sargent was sitting on a plane heading back to the United States following another stellar season with English club Norwich City when the email from U.S. Soccer popped up on his phone.

The 25-year-old striker, who had 15 goals in 32 appearances for the Canaries in 2024-25 — easily the best strike rate in the second-tier Championship division — read the message, which informed Sargent that he would not be part of the national team’s roster for the Concacaf Gold Cup, the national team’s last competitive games before next summer’s 48-team soccer extravaganza. 

"I was like, ‘Damn, OK," Sargent said when we chatted at the USMNT team hotel in New Jersey last week, before the Americans lost to South Korea in the first of two 2026 World Cup tuneups this month.

Sargent desperately wanted to participate in the Gold Cup. But the Qatar 2022 veteran went scoreless in his first three starts under U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino, including a shocking 1-0 defeat to Panama in March’s Nations League semifinals.

Instead, Sargent used the summer to rest. He started the new campaign with six goals in Norwich’s first five matches, earning a recall to the squad this month and a start against South Korea. 

Josh Sargent's good form for his club has yet to fully translate into success with the U.S. men's team.  (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Sargent's vexing struggles at the international level continued on Saturday. He failed to register a shot in 62 minutes before making way for Folarin Balogun. He has now gone 17 games without a goal for his country.

Scoring goals has always been a problem for the USMNT. The striker position is historically the program’s shallowest position. To wit: the men’s scoring record is