Josh Sargent believes that the U.S. men's national team is destined for big things in the future, saying his side is in a "dream situation" thanks to all the young talent it possesses.
The USMNT shockingly missed out on the 2018 World Cup, the first time it had failed to qualify for world football's showpiece event since the 1986 edition.
Many of the country's top young stars did not take part in that qualifying campaign, with the notable exception of Chelsea star Christian Pulisic.
But Werder Bremen striker Sargent sees a light at the end of the tunnel for the USMNT, with several young players making names for themselves at European clubs.
"It's very cool; we're all young and we have so much promise," Sargent told ESPN. "It's kind of a dream situation. You know, we can all grow up and develop together and see where it goes."
The Bundesliga features four players 21 and under who figure to be a major part of the USMNT's future: Sargent, RB Leipzig's Tyler Adams, Schalke's Weston McKennie and Giovanni Reyna of Borussia Dortmund.
Reyna in particular has U.S. fans excited, with the midfielder having broken through with Dortmund this season at age 17.
Sargent said he's frequently in touch with the teenager, who has emulated Pulisic by becoming part of Dortmund's senior setup prior to his 18th birthday.
"I talk to Gio a lot. We see each other after games, we've played each other twice. And he's a cool guy," Sargent said. "We're good friends already. We're all talking to each other. And I think we all know how good we could potentially be."
Many of the top talents in the United States have been making the jump to Europe at a young age, with Adams the only player of the aforementioned group to have ever played in MLS.
Sargent sees this as a positive development and has encouraged the best and brightest American talent to make the leap as soon as they can.
"Younger U.S. players are now pushing themselves to come over to Europe and to try to really challenge themselves and put themselves in an environment where they feel like they're gonna get better and better each day," Sargent said.
"So I think when players are doing that and able to take the risk, it's going to grow them as not only a person but as a player."
