Long before he stepped onto the field against Jamaica on Thursday, Sergino Dest called his shot.
Barcelona male defender arrives at the camp for the American men’s national team, Already in the middle of a week to remember.
In his last match before leaving for Austria, Dest matched Lionel Messi’s brace with one of Real Sociedad’s 6–1 at the Blaugrana.
However, when he was asked to reflect that performance midweek, the star of the American men’s national team said he was looking for more. He wanted the first international goal for America and was as confident as he was that he could achieve it.
And get it and also in great style.
“I told the staff that I was going to play this game,” Dest told reporters after netting the opener in a 4–1 win over Jamaica on Thursday.
“I told Reggie [Cannon]… I said it before the game. I was also talking with Christian Pulisic and he said ‘if you score, you have to do it [points to wrist]’Cause it’s time. It’s time We are coming now. “
Dest’s goal – a curler 25 yards from outside the box – even left his own teammates stunned when he found a way to bring Messi’s talent with him to Austria.
“First of all, Sergino is sick! He’s so good, man!” Teammate Brendan Aronson, who scored a goal of his own in the USMNT win.
“To be right-left, which is now playing on the left, at first, it’s tough enough, but then he comes to his right and just hits the post a shot away.
“But I didn’t expect anything else. He has that quality.”
The quality was on full display on Thursday as Dest continued his emergence as a legitimate star. His sky-high confidence reached the international arena from club level, even though he was playing a different role in a different position.
In recent weeks, Dest has been featured as a right-wing forward for Barcelona, offering more room to rotate defensively with fewer responsibilities. Against Jamaica, however, Dest was played as the left, allowing Reggie Cannon to slot to the right.
In that left-hand position, Dest brings all the same attributes attacking to the right with the same major difference: Instead of firing a crossing with his dominant leg, Dest can now cut and take his own shots. .
And that’s exactly what they did, hitting a shot from far away that left their comrades face-to-face.
“It’s really special, of course,” he said of his goal. “I was playing left-back, so I was just thinking to myself, ‘Okay, I have to score, I have to maintain this level.” I was just looking to come in with my right foot and just shoot.
“Obviously I can shoot with my left leg as well but today, I felt there was a lot of space in the middle, so I had to go in and I had an open shot. I’ve practiced it, so now it’s good is. “
Thursday’s performance provided even more evidence that Dest’s international future may indeed lie to the left. Comfortable on the right with options like Cannon and Brian Reynolds, Dest is free to play on the left, where he will jump ahead of Fulham’s Antoine Robinson.
Any concerns of a performance drop-off from the switching sides hit the shot of the second destination to the back of the net.
“To me, he’s really strong on both sides,” USMNT boss Greg Berhalter said. “I think on the left, what you get is what you saw tonight: the ability and combination to get in and then shoot for yourself, build for yourself, open up the dribbling area inside on the left wing.
“On the right, it’s more of a vertical type of play. But I think they can both be effective. Sometimes on the left, you could possibly lose the verticality of his passing as he plays inside, more often. They are all. Things to consider.
“He enjoys playing on both sides, so that’s not an issue.”
Also support logic for starting destination from left side? A developing relationship with Christian Pulisic, who played with Dest with the USMNT for only the second time.
This is a partnership with some quirks for both players’ habit of working out ie working out. But it is also a partnership that has the ability to run perfectly against any team in the world.
Pulisic had a difficult time, as he struggled to find that final pass or shot to make anything, but his movement opened the door to the conclusion of Dest.
“It’s a relationship that’s growing,” Barhalter said. “They don’t have much time to get on the field. I think this is the second time they’ve come on the field together, and it’s definitely better than the last time they played together in terms of chemistry And how are they ‘going on.
“I think if we could intend for those two guys to pass and move and go behind the backline, then it would be really difficult to handle them because they are very fast and very technical players.
“I can imagine it’s really hard for an opponent to handle.”
Certainly, some teams will be able to handle Dest in this form. Ajax’s star in the past was confident, with many previous players deeper than his own half-century, once going through midfield on a slalom run like Messi.
This was the type of performance that would only provide more self-confidence. And, with a few more games like these, it is safe to predict that Dest’s USMNT will have one or two goals in the future.
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