Dike faces next test with U.S. national team
Orlando City star Daryl Dike will face another opportunity to prove himself on the international stage with the United States men’s national team this week against Jamaica and Northern Ireland.
To stand out, Dike will have to compete against some of the top strikers in the American talent pool, including expected starter Josh Sargent.
The Americans will kick off against Jamaica at 1 p.m. ET Thursday in Wiener Neustadt, Austria. They then face Northern Ireland at 12 p.m. ET Sunday in Belfast. ESPN2 will broadcast the first match and the Northern Ireland match will be available on FOX, UniMás and TUDN.
Less than a year after his professional debut, Dike is continuing to earn hype from fans — and a major offer from a Premier League team. He scored five goals in a span of 11 games while on loan to Barnsley, which has dropped only one loss since the striker joined the team Feb. 1.
U.S. men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter said the key to maintaining a place on the U.S. men’s national team will be consistent growth.
“It’s been great watching Daryl, to see him competing in the Championship and making an impact for his team,” Berhalter said. “The thing though is it needs to be consistent, it needs to be sustainable. Daryl needs to continue on with his form, continue to push forward. He’s a guy that we really enjoy work working with. We see a lot of potential in him and it’s just continuing to progress for him.”
Berhalter consistently emphasizes that Dike, 20, is still early in his process of rising to a national team striker.
He praised specific parts of Dike’s game — his action when his back is turned to goal in and around the penalty box and his ability to muscle through the physicality of Championship defenders —— but the coach also sees areas of growth for Dike to keep working on.
Berhalter said he wants Dike to improve his movement in the penalty box and behind the backline to increase his scoring opportunities.
“When I think about the forwards and their skillsets, I think Daryl, he’s still defining who he is as a player,” Berhalter said.
This week’s matches will give Berhalter his first opportunity to see how Dike fits into the top group of American attackers, including forwards such as Sargent and Christian Pulisic.
The coach already said Sargent will start Thursday’s match against Jamaica, which could limit Dike’s available minutes in the two outings. But Berhalter said he still believes this week will be an important chance for Dike to show how he competes.
“I think in the end, we really think about forwards and we judge forwards for how they’re putting the ball in the back of the net,” Berhalter said. “In our system, forwards are relied on to score goals. It’s most of the time the case where the forwards are getting goals in our system. So it’s going to be important, when he’s on the field to take advantage of his opportunities by scoring.”
Berhalter also noted Dike is a different type of striker than some of the other forwards in the group, offering versatility.
As the Americans prepare for a busy summer — the Concacaf Gold Cup, Nations League, World Cup qualifiers and, potentially, the Tokyo Olympics if the team qualifies — Dike can also fit into either the U-23 or senior team. With this in mind, Berhalter says Dike’s growth will be an important focus for the program.
“He’s still working into the way we want to play, working into the way we want to press [and] our offensive game,” Berhalter said. “But we’re confident that he’s going to get there and pleased with his progress so far.”