_After netting a double against Real Sociedad last weekend, the on-form American opened the scoring in his country’s 4-1 win over Jamaica on Thursday_
Long before he stepped on the field against Jamaica on Thursday, Sergino Dest called his shot.
The Barcelona defender arrived for U.S. Men’s national team camp riding high, already in the midst of a week to remember.
In his last match before heading off to Austria, Dest matched Lionel Messi’s brace with one of his own in the Blaugrana’s 6-1 battering of Real Sociedad.
However, when asked to reflect on that performance midweek, the U.S. men’s national team star said he was looking for more. He wanted that first international goal for the U.S. and, with the form he was in, he believed he could get it.
And get it he did, and in spectacular fashion, too.
“I told the staff I’m going to score this game,” Dest told reporters after netting the opener in Thursday’s 4-1 win over Jamaica.
“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 this [points to wrist]’ because it’s time. It’s time. We’re coming right now.”
Dest’s goal – a 25-yard curler from outside the box – left even his own teammates stunned, as he seemingly found a way to bring some of Messi’s genius with him to Austria.
“First of all, Sergino is sick! He’s so good, man!” raved teammate Brenden Aaronson, who scored a goal of his own in the USMNT win.
“To be a right-back who’s now playing on the left side, first of all, that’s hard enough, but then he comes in on his right and just bangs a shot far post.
“But I didn’t expect anything else. He has that quality.”
That quality was on full display on Thursday as Dest continued his emergence as a legitimate star. His sky-high confidence from the club level carried over into the international arena, even if he was playing in a different position with a significantly different role.
In recent weeks, Dest has featured as a right wingback for Barcelona, offered more room to roam with fewer responsibilities defensively. Against Jamaica, though, Dest was played as a left-back, allowing Reggie Cannon to slot in on the right side.
At that left-back position, Dest brings all the same attacking qualities that he does on the right with one key difference: instead of firing crosses with his dominant foot, Dest can now cut in and take shots of his own.
And that’s exactly what he did, smashing a shot to the far post that left his teammates with mouths agape.
Avant Sports Desk