It’s a great time to be Sergiño Dest.
The 25-year-old American star has enjoyed a career-best start to the new club season. In just the first six league matches for Dutch Eredivisie giant PSV Eindhoven, the starting fullback racked up two goals and two assists.
Oh, and PSV are once again competing in the UEFA Champions League, another place Dest has already opened his account. He secured a critical 1–1 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk in round one, scoring PSV’s lone goal of the match in the 48th minute.
The cherry on top of a dreamy month is that Dest received a call up for the expanded September–October international window, one of just 13 U.S. men’s national team players from the 2026 World Cup to be included in the two-week camp that began Monday.
“Everything is just perfect at the moment,” a beaming Dest tells Sports Illustrated.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino called up just half of his summer roster in an attempt to completely revitalize the team. Pochettino has every intention of a “fresh start” for the program, and Dest won’t have to worry about whether or not the Argentine boss sees him fitting into it. He is expected to start at least some of the four friendlies against Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada and will be a key mentor to several newcomers.
Life on the pitch hasn’t always been this great for Dest, though. In fact, even a few months ago, he wasn’t reaching the expectations he set for himself on the global stage. It’s been years of scratching and clawing to reach the summit from which he is currently basking.
‘Consistent’—Dest’s Arduous Climb to the Top
Dest was left staring up a mountain when he tore his ACL back in May 2024 in a PSV training session. The arduous climb began thereafter with a nearly year-long recovery ahead, and it only intensified once he was fully cleared in March 2025, tasked with regaining the many months he had missed.
But that wouldn’t prove to be the only major injury he’d face in recent times.Dest suffered a severe hamstring injury a year later, this past March, which nearly robbed him of a place on the USMNT’s 2026 World Cup roster. He was out for two months, not only missing the the preparatory March international camp, but also the run-in for PSV’s third-consecutive Eredivisie title.
Upon returning to the pitch, he didn’t have time to take his foot off the gas, with the World Cup right around the corner.
“The first couple weeks [of injury], I did two sessions a day [of recovery],” Dest said back in April. “I said to myself, ‘Hey, I want to be there at the World Cup, so I have to do everything in my power to be able to come back ASAP.’
“So, that’s what I did. I worked really hard, had long sessions, and now I’m here. I’m almost back. It will be a count of eight weeks in total. I saved some weeks to get myself fit and to be able to perform and be there for the national team.”
Dest adds to Sports Illustrated, “You have to be really consistent.”
He managed to regain enough fitness by the summer and was named to Pochettino’s final tournament roster. He scored just seven minutes into his long-awaited return to the team, a last-minute May friendly against Senegal. It marked his first national team goal in four-and-a-half years.
Put on a platter by Pulisic! #USMNT x @VW pic.twitter.com/DOwsOe5pF6
— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) May 31, 2026
Dest’s Bumpy World Cup Road
That pre-World Cup goal proved to be all Pochettino needed to see, choosing to start him at winger in four of the five tournament games this summer.
Dest may have earned his place at his second-career World Cup (also serving as a starter in 2022 Qatar), but he still wasn’t his “best version” yet. He was a threatening presence down the right flank, forcing defenders on their back-heels and creating chaos in the corner, yet he struggled to translate that into dangerous opportunities. He registered just two created chances all tournament and only one shot on target. He left the summer with zero goals and assists.
“After an ACL injury, for me personally, it’s on and off,” he says. “Sometimes I feel at my peak again, and I then I drop a little bit in terms of power and in how I feel.”
That’s what makes the current heights Dest is reaching so profound. Now that he’s had a few additional months to rest, recover and train, he believes he is only beginning to scratch the surface of his potential.
“I’m in a good headspace. I’m working toward my best version again,” he says.
Dest pinpointed PSV’s league match against FC Utrecht last month as his favorite performance thus far. He had a goal and an assist in that 6–1 league victory, the most emphatic win the team has had all season.
It’s a match that proved just how far he’s come. “What I liked about my goal is that it was in the 93rd minute, so that showed people that I could still go into the last bit of the game, that I’m fit. That’s why I liked that one the most,” he says.
@PSV devastante 🤯
— Como TV (@_Como_TV) August 30, 2026
I Boeren ne fanno 6 in casa dell'#Utrecht 🇳🇱 chiude i conti Sergiño #Dest ⚽
🎙️ @solario_simone #ComoTV pic.twitter.com/XJUFxshd4k
Now, Dest will look to bring his newfound form to the international stage, reuniting with Pochettino and his fellow Americans for the first time since the World Cup ended. The USMNT opens play against Peru on Saturday.
“I feel like this is a great test again,” Dest says about the fall window. “We play against great opponents, and the coach [Pochettino] can do his magic again.”
“Obviously, I feel confident how I started the season, so yeah, I’m ready to get back,” he adds. “I’m ready to see my team again.”
