When he joined the U.S. Men's National Team last week, Nicholas Gioacchini could not have scripted a better story for his first camp.
On Nov. 12, the 20-year-old striker made his international debut, coming on as a 79th-minute substitute in the scoreless draw in Wales.
In his second appearance and first start on Monday night, Gioacchini connected for his first two international goals – including the game-winner – to earn U.S. Soccer Insiders Man of the Match honors in a 6-2 triumph against Panama in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.
"I had a week that I'll never ever forget," he said.
That week was punctuated by a magical four minutes on the Stadion Wiener Neustadt pitch Gioacchini and many U.S. Soccer supporters will never forget, scoring twice to transform a 1-1 deadlock into a 3-1 advantage.
"We looked at the last game and saw our strengths and our weaknesses," he said. "We tried to improve on that in this game and score goals and head back to our clubs on a good note. That's what we did. So, I'm happy for everyone."
Five goals were scored by young European-based players who made their USMNT debuts during this FIFA international window - Gio Reyna (18-years-old), Sebastian Soto (20) and Gioacchini. They were joined by six other young players who represented the USA for the first time during the two matches.
Gioacchini's opportunity came midway through the first half.
After Reyna's free kick equalized the score at 1-1 in the 18th minute, the Kansas City, Mo. native took center stage, demonstrating his ability to score in close quarters. He slotted home a rebound of goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera's save of Uly Llanez's shot in the 22nd minute for a 2-1 lead before delivering a highlight reel finish, diving to nod home Matt Miazga's header from point-blank range in the 26th minute and a 3-1 advantage.
Not bad for someone who admitted he was nervous prior to kickoff.
"I'm coming here not to just play well, I'm here to score goals and to help the team win," he said. "That part of my head was occupied with a little bit of nerves."
USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter had enough confidence in the 6-foot, 160-lb. Gioacchini to put him in the Starting XI.
"He's a fantastic kid," he said. "I had a lot of conversations with him before the game. You can tell he was a little bit apprehensive. My job was just to give him confidence and tell him that he's good enough and he showed it. Good penalty box movement … he stretched the line a couple times, and it gave us what we were missing a little bit in Wales. It's a shame he didn't get that hat-trick on his [first start]. But a good performance from him, for sure."
No one had to remind Gioacchini that his night could have been more momentous. He had an opportunity to secure that hat-trick in the 65th minute after a Panama handball, but he sent his penalty kick into the middle of the goal that Mosquera saved.
"It's part of learning," he said. "It's part of the process of building self-confidence and self-strength. I am disappointed in myself. But it's something to come back to in the future and take it again to score next time."
Perhaps he will get an opportunity for Caen in French Ligue 2. Born to a mother of Jamaican descent and father of Italian descent, Gioacchini had an opportunity to play for Paris FC and Caen moving to France as a teenager after growing up in Maryland.
In his final club game before USMNT duty, Gioacchini scored in stoppage time in Caen’s 2-1 victory against Nancy on Nov. 7. Including Monday's game, he has tallied three goals in his last 88 minutes for club and country through three matches.
"This is great, scoring goals for my country," he said. "It is something that not everyone gets the chance to do. I'm grateful for that. It's almost like a blessing. I thank everyone for this opportunity. Heading back into Caen with a couple goals is a confidence booster. It would be good to be able to reproduce the same thing for my club and help them out. I don't tend to look back much on what I've done. Now, I just look at what I need to improve."
Gioacchini's head might have been a bit up in the clouds from his USMNT experience, but his feet were firmly planted on the ground. He had no delusions of grandeur. Even with the brace, he realized there was plenty of room for improvement.
"Well, I always look at the glass half empty part of my performance first," he said. "I remember what I've done wrong. I feel I have a lot to improve on. My first impression I don't think was a bad one. I could have done way better, been more available to the midfield, even to the center backs in the box. I still had areas where I felt like [I] should have been five steps ahead, even two steps ahead. It's something to review and to remember. But still, two goals are not easy for anyone. It's something to repeat."
He's off to a pretty damn good start.