Sergiño Dest commits to play for U.S. Men’s National Team

The U.S. Men’s National Team received a boost on Monday as Sergiño Dest revealed that he will continue to represent the United States in international competition.

The first opportunity for Dest to officially be cap-tied will come when the USMNT faces Canada in a must-win Concacaf Nations League group stage match on Nov. 15 at Exploria Stadium in Orlando.

“I am happy to announce that I have decided to keep playing for the U.S. Men’s National Team,” Dest said. “Of course, it was a tough decision for me when the Dutch Men’s National Team showed their interest, but I have built up a very good feeling with Team USA over the last couple of years and I strongly believe in the plans and potential of U.S. Soccer. I am therefore dedicated to making the next 10-15 years a big success and will do my utmost to help the team play for titles.”

Dest, who turns 19 years old on November 3, plays as a right back for Ajax in the Eredivisie, the top division of professional soccer in the Netherlands. The highly-touted prospect has represented the U.S. at the U-17 and U-20 levels, while also earning two caps with the senior U.S. national team.

Born in the Netherlands to a Dutch mother and Surinamese-American father, Dest had the option of switching his international allegiance to the Netherlands. However, after meeting with U.S. head coach Gregg Berhalter and U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Earnie Stewart last week in Amsterdam, Dest announced his decision to stay with the U.S. on Monday.

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Episode 4 of our weekly news podcast, The SoccerWire Podcast (presented by PlayerMaker) is available now. Listen to hosts Marc Serber and Charles Boehm discuss the Sergiño Dest situation and much more: