Agyemang went from Division III Eastern Connecticut State all the way back to the USMNT, now a contender for more opportunities
All of these years later, Patrick Agyemang still can't believe that he wasted his first U.S. men's national team chance. It still bothers him, funnily enough. For a while, it looked like it would be his only opportunity to be on that field at that level, and it never happened because Agyemang totally blew it.
Years ago, the U.S. were set to play in Agyemang's hometown of East Hartford and he was selected to be one of the local kids to walk the national team stars onto the field. This would be his big moment, he thought, his one and only chance to step onto the pitch alongside the best American soccer had to offer. He grew up dreaming of being on the field with those USMNT stars. This would be his big chance, and it would come at a stadium as close as could be.
There was only one problem, though: he was late getting his permission slip in. Opportunity gone. He could only watch on as others got that magic moment. His only chance had passed him by due to a stupid permission slip.
Kids from East Hartford don't tend to make it onto the field with the USMNT twice in a lifetime. His path, he realized, would likely never lead him back to that level. It bothered him for years. But, at that moment, as he looked at the USMNT's stars and thought about it more and more, one thought stuck out.
"All I could say to myself was 'Man, I really want to be back there again someday'," he tells GOAL.
Agyemang's path, ultimately, did somehow lead him back, although not in a way that anyone could have imagined. It went from Division III Eastern Connecticut State all the way back to the USMNT, where he suddenly finds himself in contention for even more opportunities to step on that field. Agyemang might have blown his first impression with the USMNT, but he nailed his second all these years later, scoring two goals in January camp to announce to the world that he'd arrived.
His first came against Venezuela in his first USMNT start. Just 39 minutes in, Agyemang busted loose, beat his defender, and found the back of the net, achieving his childhood dream of both playing and scoring for the USMNT. Days later, inserted as a substitute against Costa Rica, Agyemang did it again, firing a shot with his weaker left foot to make it two in two.
Many will see it as a meteoric rise. Those that haven't followed will believe Agyemang came out of nowhere. Just a year ago, he wasn't even starting in MLS and, unless you followed Charlotte FC's season closely, you probably hadn't seen much of the striker. He's easily noticeable once you do see him with his 6'4" frame but, for many, this USMNT camp will be the first time they've seen what he can do.
In Agyemang's mind, though, that rise wasn't meteoric. It wasn't rapid, although he can admit it was somewhat weird. It's been a long time coming, though. He's been dreaming about it since that fateful day in East Hartford, after all.
"No one sees how much I've sacrificed to put myself in position and, man when I got that shot, I said that I ain't letting it go," Agyemang says. "I don't care who's coming. You can bring anybody, but I'm going to fight for that spot. When they said that they were going to put me in these games, I said 'Alright, 'I'm going to run with it'. If I want to be the guy that puts myself in these positions, I have to take it.
"I have to take each day and each moment. I don't want to crumble, I want to be the guy that steps up."
Agyemang stepped up in January. He made it look easy. Getting there, though? Anything but.
Getty Images SportThe beginnings
Six-and-a-half years before his January camp breakout, Agyemang walked onto the campus of Eastern Connecticut State. In many ways, it's about as far from the USMNT as one can be. He arrived in Willimantic, Connecticut unheralded and unknown, partly of his own doing.
Agyemang grew up in East Hartford as the son of Ghanaian immigrants. Surrounded by family and friends, he never felt particularly far from his heritage. From the beginning, soccer was huge in the Agyemang household. This is Patrick's story, of course, but he wasn't the only talented player back home. His older brothers Enoch and Emmanuel were good, too, and they made sure that their younger brother did things the right way.
"They could have envied me and the way that I pursued my goals, but they were the first ones to push me," Agyemang recalls. "They're the first ones to celebrate when I do well. They made sure I was going to be ready, and it made me feel like I had an empire that backed me.
Agyemang's parents, meanwhile, worked hard to ensure their sons would get every opportunity. Mom worked multiple jobs. So did Dad. They, too, formed a key part of that empire. Somehow, whenever the brothers needed to get to a game or practice, they found a way. When all the brothers needed to go to college, they found a way. Whenever Agyemang needed anything, aside from maybe that permission slip, his parents found a way.
Even so, there were only so many opportunities for soccer players stationed right between the New England Revolution and New York City FC scouring networks, and Agyemang, admittedly, didn't do much to put himself in front of the people that could give him those opportunities. During his senior year of high school, he had just one college offer: The University of Saint Joseph in nearby West Hartford. Then Eastern came knocking.
"Growing up, I didn't really hear too much about academies until I was older," he says. "In terms of the talent around me, it was crazy, but there just weren't as many opportunities to be seen. I didn't have exposure and I didn't really understand how recruiting worked in terms of making a tape and sending it out. I made my own highlight just for me and my friends to watch, but I also posted it on YouTube thinking that other people were going to watch it.
"My senior night, Eastern came and recruited me and they were only the second school that I visited or talked to the coaches. I asked a lot of questions and, ultimately, made my decision."
In his two seasons with the Warriors, Agyemang tallied 30 goals and 10 assists across 39 appearances, despite playing largely as a winger. For a while, he thought that the D3 scene was simply the right level for him. One friendly changed things. Facing off with nearby powerhouse UConn, Agyemang never felt out of place or overwhelmed. It let him know that he could be more. An offer from UConn never came, but one did from Rhode Island, and Agyemang made the move. He scored 19 goals and 37 games while adding 12 assists, shockingly putting him on the MLS radar.
In December 2022, Charlotte FC selected him with the 12th overall pick of the MLS Draft after trading up to get him.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportA breakthrough in Charlotte
Given his experience leading up to his college career, Agyemang, more than anything, wanted to feel wanted as a player. He found that in Charlotte.
The club traded up to get him and clearly had some sort of plan, which began with a stint with their reserves, Crown Legacy FC. He scored 10 goals in 12 games, earning a call-up to the big club, where he scored his first goal in June 2023. It would be his only MLS goal of his rookie year and, entering his second in the league, there was no guarantee big-spending Charlotte wouldn't go sign a star to lead the line.
Agyemang, as it turned out, became that star.
"I like it when eyes are on me," he said. "I like it when people debate if I'm good or not. I love it because now it's my time to shine. Now. It's my time to show what I can do, show my quality show that I'm not just a bench or rotational player; I'm one of the guys.. I'm not just a player that's a rotational player. I'm one of the guys. It feels like it's just up to me and, for me, that's all I want."
The qualities that make Agyemant successful are easy to see. He's huge, at 6-4, which led to several funny social media posts when he stood next to the TNT staff after his USMNT debut. He's not all size, though. A former winger, Agyemang is fast and comfortable on the dribble. Thus far, he's shown he has the composure to finish at a high level, too. According to FBRef, he's in the 94th percentile in progressive carries, 92nd percentile in successful take-ons, and 80th percentile in shot-creating actions. That shows a player that can beat a defender, and then make them pay.
He scored 10 goals in 19 starts in 2024, with seven of those goals coming from June onward, when he really became the guy for the club. Dean Smith, formerly of Aston Villa and now Charlotte FC, made him feel like he could play, and Agyemang proved him, and everyone else in Charlotte, right.
"The Charlotte fan base has been amazing," he said. " I didn't expect them to support me as much as they do. They're always backing me no matter what. I'll get tagged in so many things on Instagram and there'll be arguments underneath the comments. If someone says one thing bad about me, there's always a Charlotte fan there ready to argue."
The tone of those comments has no doubt shifted in recent weeks. That's what happens when you make that USMNT breakthrough.
Getty ImagesThe USMNT chance
Agyemang's renewed USMNT dream began with a text message from a higher-up at Charlotte FC. It read, "Call me as soon as you can." The striker had hope but didn't believe it just yet. He knew what he wanted it to be, but he didn't know exactly what it was.
As it turned out, his gut instinct was right: he was heading to the USMNT January camp.
"I had backed myself, but I felt I could have had more stats throughout the year," he admits. "The way I played, though, I was confident in myself that, if I could get a chance to show it on that international stage, I felt like it could translate. When I got that call, all I could say was, 'Alright, now it's time'."
It was, in fact, Agyemang's time. He did well enough in camp to earn that first start against Venezuela. The rest, you could say, is history. You can count Mauricio Pochettino among those impressed by the striker, which certainly bodes well for whatever does come next.
“He has a really good profile [as] a striker, and for us, I think can be very, very, very useful,” Pochettino said of the 24-year-old forward. “So happy, because he's still young, still has room to improve, but his attitude and his condition are great. I was so happy, I am so happy with him, with the performance, attitude, and everything, and his performance was really, really good.
"I think he's capable of adding a different condition to the team that sometimes we were missing a little bit. I think he's a very good alternative on the front for us.”
Pochettino, Agyemang says, was a massive help during this first USMNT camp. From the beginning, the USMNT boss gave Agyemang the only thing a player ever wants: confidence. Upon his arrival, Agyemang felt welcome. He also felt like he belonged.
"When I'm talking to Pochettino and his staff and the way they talk to me, I could feel that they see something in me and they want me to continue progressing," Agyemang said. "They make me feel like I'm getting somewhere, but that I'm not there yet. He encourages us to play our game. He said to me, 'I brought you here to play you, to be you, to express yourself. Do the right things defensively and work hard and put the pressure on, but play, have fun, enjoy yourself, and show what you can do.'
"When I got there, I was nervous, you know? The way the staff has been, they made this environment so easy to succeed in."
AFPThe makings of a celebration
There are a lot of hard parts of being a striker. The hardest? Probably composure. For Agyemang, that extends to both before and after scoring a goal.
Throughout his career, Agyemang has developed a signature celebration. It's one he's shared with his family and friends for years. Agyemang picks up a phone, showing that he has, once again, answered the call. Then the seriousness drops and Agyemang dances.
"My brothers were like, 'Pat, you have to get a signature celebration'," he recalls. " I did a couple of things but, when I did the phone call, they said, 'That's it'. It's me just saying 'Call me when you need me and I'll be there'. "
Agyemang, of course, did the celebration plenty throughout the MLS season. He then did it after scoring his first USMNT goal. Admittedly, though, he was stunned he could even remember to do it given everything that was going through his head the moment the ball hit the back of the net.
"When I scored my first goal in MLS, I was not composed," Agyemang says with a laugh. "I just started running! This time, I said I wanted to remember this moment, so I had to try and breathe a little bit.
"You always keep that inner kid inside you, even when you're doing well and start to get these opportunities. You can try to contain your excitement, but it's just something that you're so happy about."