Following Tuesday night’s development, the stars of Norwich City and Coventry City will feel differently; it’s devastating for the Carrow Road favourite.
As the host nation, the USMNT is one of three nations that don’t have to worry about their chances of making it to the major tournament. The ‘Stars and Stripes’ will play in a number of friendly matches while former Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino looks over a pool of talent hoping to make up for Gregg Berhalter’s lacklustre performance in Qatar.
Current stars like Aidan Morris and Patrick Agyemang of Middlesbrough and Derby County, respectively, as well as former English second-tier players like Cameron Carter-Vickers, Antonee Robinson, and Brenden Aaronson are among the names currently under the Argentinean’s watchful eye. In the first few weeks of the season, the aforementioned pair has undoubtedly made an impression at Pride Park and Riverside Stadium. However, the Norwich City forward will undoubtedly be disgruntled by recent international developments regarding both Haji Wright and Josh Sargent, especially after watching his divisional rival and countryman perform well in Colorado on Tuesday night.
After being acquired by Mark Robins for a club-record £7.7 million in August 2023 to try to fill the void left by Viktor Gyokeres, Wright has had a mixed bag of luck. After a slow start for both him and Ellis Simms, the Los Angeles-born forward definitely clicked into gear as his first season in the English game went on, finishing the season with 16 goals and seven assists as the Sky Blues missed the playoffs.
Despite being the target of transfer interest from teams like Leicester City and Ipswich Town, Wright was unable to replicate such form prior to Robins’ departure in November 2024. Following an ankle injury that kept him out of action in the first few weeks of Frank Lampard’s tenure at the CBS, the 27-year-old would eventually make a triumphant return with a hat-trick against Sunderland. However, he was somewhat accused of drifting in and out of games as he scored twice more to finish the season on double figures as the Black Cats defeated City in the play-off semi-final stage.
It must be acknowledged, though, that no player has begun the current campaign in a more prosperous vein of form. Wright’s eight goals greatly add to Lampard’s team’s incredible 27-goal total as they return from the international break as the only team in England’s professional divisions defending an undefeated record. Wright has scored in all but three of City’s nine games this season. Although he was unexpectedly left out of Pochettino’s USMNT roster for September, the 53-year-old praised his prospects of making the World Cup squad after continuing his scorching scoring spree with a brace against Australia on Tuesday night.
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