IRVINE, Calif. — Of all the scenarios and lineup permutations discussed and debated for the possibility Christian Pulisic wouldn’t play in Friday’s match against Australia, only the most clairvoyant among us saw Ricardo Pepi coming.
The two-striker setup Pochettino deployed in the 2-0 win against the Aussies was a total departure from everything the U.S. men’s national team had done over the past year. Pepi, making his first start at a World Cup next to Folarin Balogun, played his role excellently, and the chess move worked as intended.
“It’s special of course,” said Pepi, one of the final cuts from the roster four years ago. “Being able to go through a lot, obviously, and then getting to start today obviously makes it even better. I’m very happy to be able to get this out of the way.”
In part due to injuries, the 23-year-old had struggled to leave much of an impression with the national team under Pochettino, aside from a strong performance against Jamaica in the Nations League all the way back in November 2024. Toward the end of the season, though, he was pouring in goals at the club level, for Dutch side PSV, and put in an eye-opening performance in the friendly win against Senegal at the end of May.
To state the obvious, he’s the second striker on the depth chart now — no one is deposing Balogun — and has carved an important role for himself.
This is at a position, remember, where the U.S. was starved for production at the last World Cup in Qatar. Now it seems to have optionality alongside the massive boost in talent provided by Balogun’s commitment to play for the Yanks over England.
“Ricardo, for me, is one of the greatest strikers in the world for here in the USA,” Pochettino said. “The problem of Ricardo was suffering the last year too many issues and problems that didn’t allow him to develop and be involved with us a little bit more time.
“That was a problem, but always we trust in him. Now working with us, I think he’s getting better and better every day. I have a condition, like you see, he can play with another striker, he can play alone. He has an unbelievable capacity to create chances and score goals.”
The USMNT did not hold training Sunday, with the plan being to return to the pitch Monday morning.