By January camp standards, Saturday’s U.S. men’s national team win was as good as it gets. These games aren’t about results, although – bonus – the U.S. did get a good one. The real focal point of these games is individual performances, and the U.S. got plenty of those, too.
Jack McGlynn, Patrick Agyemang and Matko Miljevic each scored their first senior international goals, leading the way in a 3-1 win over Venezuela at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. McGlynn was the star of the show, running the midfield even outside of his first-half golazo.
Agyemang, meanwhile, showed plenty of good traits as the No. 9, particularly finishing. And Miljevic shook off an early penalty miss to get a goal of his own to show some resiliency in his first USMNT match – joining Agyemang to raise the total to 61 players who scored in their U.S. debuts.
“Every kid dreams to make a debut for their national team and to score, it’s hard to put the feelings into words,” Agyemang said to TNT. “I’m still excited and I can’t believe it, I’m so happy.”
All three were deserved goalscorers, having been rewarded for standout games aside from their finishes. All three showed quality, and they weren’t the only ones. Few of the Americans who played in this MLS-heavy camp will leave Miami with their heads down. This was a good day from top to bottom, one that will leave Maurico Pochettino thrilled with how his group applied itself after a hard week of training.
And the players clearly are benefitting from training under Pochettino, as well.
“It was intimidating going into your first camp,” Agyemang said, “but Pochettino told me ‘I like your game, I want you to play exactly how you want to play. You don’t have to do anything specific. Know your defensive roles but in the end of the day, go and show what you can do.’ “
There’s still another game to play this week – the USMNT take on Costa Rica next Wednesday – but overall, this January camp has already proven to be a good time for several new USMNT faces.
GOAL rates USMNT players from Chase Stadium.