From World Cup snub to World Cup weapon: Ricardo Pepi's playmaking gives the U.S. another option up front
First and foremost, Ricardo Pepi is a member of the U.S. World Cup team because he knows how to score goals — 45 of them, despite irregular starting assignments, over three years across all competitions for Dutch bully PSV Eindhoven.
“Pepi is a killer,” coach Mauricio Pochettino said last week.
And for the first half of the U.S. friendly against Senegal on Sunday, the 23-year-old Texan was a menacing figure at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium. He carried himself with purpose and poise, hellbent on proving his value on a squad employing two other potent strikers.
But instead of contributing as a scorer, he was the facilitator.
First came the clever, no-look touch between two defenders that unlocked the defense and sent Christian Pulisic rushing into the open to set up Sergiño Dest’s icebreaker. Then came the immaculately weighted pass into Pulisic’s pathway for the second goal in the 3-2 victory.
The halftime whistle marked the end of the workday for not just Pepi but nine other starters in a take-few-risks tuneup before the World Cup opener next week.
By snapping out of his five-month scoring rut and adding an assist, Pulisic was the toast of the town. But Pepi’s diversified performance boosted his stock and put him in prime position to play considerable minutes this summer.
Although Monaco’s Folarin Balogun almost certainly remains the top-choice striker — he scored the winning goal Sunday — coach Mauricio Pochettino will not pause to summon Pepi for a second-half refresh or a starting alternative over the course of the tournament.
Coventry City’s Haji Wright, who didn’t play against Senegal, is the other option in a strike force that combined for 56 goals this past season.
Pepi has “the possibility to score,” Pochettino said, “and to create chances some time from nowhere.”
Pepi’s inclusion on the 26-man roster comes 3½ years after the bitter disappointment of being left off the 2022 squad. When then-coach Gregg Berhalter called to tell the teenager he didn’t make it, Pepi hung up on him.
Berhalter chose Wright, Jesús Ferreira and Josh Sargent, instead.
“Being left off was obviously not nice, but I feel like using that in a good way [helped him] be in this World Cup,” Pepi said last week. “I felt like it helped me grow, it matured me a little bit. It was part of the process, and I'm very happy and excited to be here now.”
For the past 18 months, there were questions as to whether he would be here — not because of his skill set but because of injuries. A knee ailment sidelined him the second half of PSV Eindhoven’s 2024-25 season, muscle setbacks limited his role last fall and, just as he was hitting his scoring stride early this year, he fractured a forearm and missed six weeks.
Invited to March camp, the last before World Cup roster decisions, Pepi played 20 minutes in one friendly and none in the other.
“We didn’t have too much time to work with him,” Pochettino said. “And then when he was with us, he wasn’t his best, but now we’re seeing a different player.”
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This past season, as PSV won its third consecutive Eredivisie trophy, Pepi led the club — and finished tied for third in the league – with 16 goals. He did it despite missing eight of 34 matches and starting just 16. He added three goals in five Champions League matches (one start).
“I was just really focused on trying to play as much as possible, staying healthy,” he said. “It was a difficult season with a lot of injuries, but everything can change in one second. It can be bad, it can be good as well. Just really focused on helping my team out and preparing for the World Cup, if I got the opportunity.”
Like most strikers, goals come in bunches or don’t come at all. In the winter, he scored in six of seven matches, but while in the act of scoring in that seventh match, he broke his fall — and broke his left forearm. (Even today, he still wears a protective sleeve.)
Cleared to return, Pepi gradually returned to form. And with the World Cup approaching, he scored in each of his last five appearances (all starts) and totaled six goals.
Clubs in the biggest European leagues have taken notice. This spring, he was on the cusp of a summer move to Fulham in the Premier League when the reported $43 million transfer went off track. A strong World Cup could rekindle interest from clubs seeking a young scorer.
Pepi is aiming to return to a big-five circuit after his first stint went bust. In 2022, 16 appearances for the Bundesliga’s Augsburg yielded no goals.
“I was obviously a youngin’ and, just being 18 years old, going to Europe [from FC Dallas] is obviously a big change,” he said.
He has found happiness and success in the Netherlands, first on loan at Groningen in 2022-23. Six goals and an assist in an eight-game swing, though, weren’t enough to get onto Berhalter’s World Cup squad.
“He probably deserved to be on the last roster,” Pulisic said. “There's always tough decisions and we had other good players on the squad. He missed out last time, but you can see he's continued to work really hard. He continues to keep a high level, scores goals, does all the things well, and that's why his time is now. He absolutely deserves to be here.”
Pepi did not know for sure he had made it this time until May 22, when Pochettino informed the players via a prerecorded video shared in a WhatsApp group chat.
“It was definitely way different, of course” than in 2022, he said.
When Pochettino’s message arrived, Pepi was in the car with his father, Daniel, his youth coach.
“I showed it to him and he immediately started crying a little bit,” he said.
This time, there was no reason for him to hang up prematurely. He was going to the World Cup.
