Bundesliga
Sargent excited about USMNT return after Bremen goal
Josh Sargent celebrated his recall to the US national team with his first goal of the season for Werder Bremen in their 3-2 win over Augsburg on Matchday 3, leaving the striker relishing the prospect of representing his country once again.
The 19-year-old has two goals in seven senior appearances for the Stars and Stripes, but was left out of head coach Gregg Berhalter's roster for the Gold Cup over the summer.
While disappointed by that omission, Sargent channeled his frustration into Bremen's grueling pre-season regime and was rewarded with a first Bundesliga start of 2019/20 on Sunday.
He repaid Florian Kohfeldt's faith in him with a brilliantly taken strike in a 3-2 victory over Augsburg, deftly controlling a long ball over the defence from Nuri Sahin, before flicking it over the onrushing goalkeeper and tapping into an empty net to put his side 2-1 up.
It was just his sixth shot in Germany's top flight, but it brought his tally up to three goals in 299 minutes of Bundesliga action overall.
It is no surprise, then, that Sargent is back in the USMNT for their upcoming friendlies against Portugal, Mexico and Uruguay, the latter of which will be played in the forward's home town of St. Louis, Missouri on 10 September.
Watch: Sargent on returning to the USMNT
"I'm very excited. I don't know if I'll play or not, obviously, but if I get the chance to play I think it'll be incredible," he told bundesliga.com after the final whistle against Augsburg. "I can't imagine a better feeling than playing for your country in front of your home town."
Sargent was also singled out for praise by Kohfeldt after a mature display on Matchday 3, having run a distance of six miles, made 20 sprints and won seven tackles before being replaced by Claudio Pizarro in the 82nd minute to a standing ovation at the Weser-Stadion.
"He has no problems with speed or anything like this in the top division and he'll develop his game more over the coming months," said Kohfeldt. "You can learn a lot of things in a Bundesliga game, but you can't learn what he did today."
Watch: Kohfeldt on Sargent's development
Sargent's teammate Niklas Moisander – a 33-year-old veteran with 62 international caps for Finland – was equally impressed by the American: "I think he'll have the possibility to play more games this year than he did last year. He had a great pre-season. He has all the talent so we are very happy to have him."
Berhalter and the US national team no doubt will be too.