Born Near Amsterdam. Playing for the U.S.A. Against the Dutch.
Sergiño Dest is one of the best players on the USMNT. And nobody personifies the new American soccer identity better than him.
Just two years ago, Sergiño Dest had a decision to make: the Netherlands or the U.S.A.? Dest was then an electric 19-year-old prospect who had been born just outside of Amsterdam, but his father was from Brooklyn, which meant that he could play for either country’s national team. As a boy, he considered himself Dutch, and every year, he’d try out for the Netherlands’ youth national team, make it to the final round, and be told that he had just missed the cut. That’s why Dest first came to America: as a teenager who knew no English but could at least make the team.
Once he grew as a player, the Netherlands changed their minds. They wanted him too, and they lobbied him hard. After all, they’d say, didn’t he consider their country to be his home? But Dest is all about loyalty, and that’s why he says that he ultimately picked Team U.S.A. "A lot of people only want you when it's going well,” he said in 2020. “The USMNT helped me when it didn't go well. If they hadn't given me a chance, maybe I don't reach this level.”
He added one more thought in an interview on the day he made his decision: “It's not as if the U.S. is bad at soccer, either. They play in World Cups—and against a lot of the same teams as the Netherlands.”
On Saturday, Dest will learn the limits of that statement when he stars as the U.S. take on the Netherlands in the Round of 16 at the FIFA World Cup. It’s the biggest game the national team has played in nearly a decade—and an opportunity to change the way the world thinks of American soccer.
For years, the American side has been known as a Bruce Springsteen song personified. Whereas European players flop, ours tackle like linebackers. Where South American players run fast, we run longer. The Americans used to win just by outworking teams. They were tough. Gritty.
This American team has elements of that identity, but they share another one too—a different view of the American spirit that rings just as true as a team that is Born to Run. It’s a team full of players like Dest; full of players like Cameron Carter Vickers, who was born in Southend-on-Sea at the head of the Thames in England; players like Yunus Musah, whose Ghanian mother went into labor when visiting New York; players like Timothy Weah, whose father is one of the greatest soccer players of all time—and the current president of Liberia.
Though they play a different kind of American soccer than Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, this squad feels like a reflection of our nation all the same. It’s not just that this is a team of immigrants. It’s that this team of immigrants is so full of potential. Dest is 22. So is Weah. Musah just turned 20. They’ve only just begun to show us what they can do. And as they realize that potential, they can take our nation further than it’s ever gone.
There was a moment in Tuesday’s game against Iran that feels relevant now. Iran needed a draw to advance; we needed a win. So, the Iranians dropped nearly every man back and figured they could withstand the American attack and play for a tie. For most of the first half, the Yanks passed all around the field, but they could never find an opening. Finally, Dest saw one—a sliver of green space right in front of him. He didn’t hesitate. He just started running like a madman, straight towards that little glimmer of hope.
Weston McKennie saw Dest sprinting and gave him an opportunity, a perfectly placed lob of a pass. Dest slowed, headed it to his left, and Christian Pulisic buried it home for a goal.
That goal ended up pushing the American team through to the next stage of the tournament—and it all started with Dest’s vision. He saw something that looked like an opportunity and scrambled in its direction.
Can it get more American than that?
🏠 You’ve still got time to check out the House of Fútbol in New York City. Today’s the last day. Learn more here!
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