Skip to main content

USMNT qualifiers: Ricardo Pepi drought may force Gregg Berhalter to use alternative striker options vs. Mexico


 


United States men's national team striker Ricardo Pepi went from top young prospect in Major League Soccer with FC Dallas to struggling in Europe with Augsburg overnight. The American talent has been at the Bundesliga club now for a couple months, but he's yet to settle in with the team battling for its top-flight lives.


The 19-year-old is in the midst of a five-month scoring drought, having not found the back of the net for his new club at all. His last goal came on Oct. 7 in World Cup qualifying for the United States. Frustration has to be bubbling, and understandably so, but in a position where confidence is key, it may just be time for USMNT boss Gregg Berhalter to consider alternative options in what could be the biggest match of the qualifying cycle at Estadio Azteca against Mexico on March 24 (10 p.m. ET | Paramount+). 


At a club that's only three points ahead of the drop zone and barely averages a goal per game, chances are hard to come by for Pepi. Given that he was linked to some of the world's biggest clubs, his move to Augsburg was questioned by some and accepted by others based on the amount of playing time he could get as a starter. No matter how you judge his winter transfer, It's safe to say things have not worked out as planned just yet as he hasn't managed to record three shots in a single game or surpass an xG of 0.22. 


The unnecessary need for him to track back coupled with the lack of creativity and service around him play a factor into his 13-game scoreless streak, which is an obvious cause for concern if you're in Berhalter's shoes looking to get the most out of his young and talented players in the final batch of make-or-break Concacaf qualifiers.


Here's a look at his numbers: 


DATE OPPONENT MINUTES SHOTS  XG  GOALS


Oct. 

10        Panama          23             1        0.06       0


Oct. 

13       Costa Rica       87             3        0.60       0


Nov. 

13       Mexico            82             1        0.11       0


Nov. 

16      Jamaica           78              2        0.13       0


Dec. 

19      Bosnia &          62             1        0.03       0

          Herzegovina


Jan. 

8       Hoffenheim     30             1         0.10      0


Jan. 

16     Eintracht 

         Frankfurt         84             2         0.22      0


Jan. 

22     Leverkusen     57             2         0.13      0


Jan. 

30      Canada            21             2         0.12      0


Feb. 

3        Honduras       76              3         0.27     0


Feb. 

12      Borussia

          M'gladbach    27               0          0        0


Feb. 

19      Freiburg         10              1         0.05    0


Feb. 

27      Borussia 

          Dortmund       59             0           0       0



As Berhalter finalizes his squad list with an announcement expected this week, he has to answer the following question: Do you go with your top striker prospect who isn't playing well or with somebody else who is full of confidence and production as of late? To me, it's clearly the latter, and there is only one name that makes sense: Jordan Pefok.


The D.C.-born 22-year-old is playing for Young Boys in Switzerland and is in sensational form. He scored during Sunday's 2-2 draw to Luzern, and he's been on a tear as of late. In the past eight games, he has scored nine goals, including four against Lugano on Dec. 19. He's got 21 goal to his name on the season, including having scored in the Champions League against Manchester United. He is, without a doubt, the most in-form striker this team has and the top American striker in Europe right now in terms of production. 


Matthew Hoppe has played just four games at Mallorca since joining in the summer and he has yet to score. Gyasi Zardes has been passed by Miguel Berry with the Columbus Crew. Jordan Morris is healthy and just scored for the Seattle Sounders in the win over the Los Angeles Galaxy, but he's a ways from being back to his usual self. Josh Sargent has had his ups and downs with Norwich City. And Jesus Ferreira hasn't looked incredibly impressive for FC Dallas early with the MLS season having kicked off just a few weeks ago.


On Thursday, we will see the picks in attack for Berhalter when the squad in announced. But barring injury, not only should Pefok be in the squad, he should start at Estadio Azteca, having earned it with his performances week after week.


USMNT schedule

Thursday, March 24 (Matchday 12)

Mexico vs. United States, 10 p.m. ET (Paramount+)


Sunday, March 27 (Matchday 13)

United States vs. Panama, 7 p.m. ET (FS1 and UniMas)


Wednesday, March 30 (Matchday 14)

Costa Rica vs. United States, 9 p.m. ET (Paramount+)

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Klay Thompson to sit out Warriors preseason games in Japan as Kerr says he needs more time to ramp-up

  Klay Thompson may have returned healthy to the Golden State Warriors last season, but the scars from his two missed seasons are still quite visible. The Warriors played their first of two preseason games against the Washington Wizards on Friday and will play another on Sunday, but Warriors coach Steve Kerr said that Thompson will not be playing at all during the trip to Japan. "Just feel more comfortable giving him a little more of a ramp up," Kerr said before Friday's victory over Washington. "He's just not quite ready to play at this point just based on where, you know, we're so early in camp. We just want to be safe and make sure he gets a good ramp-up before he plays in games." Typically, so little time to ramp up wouldn't be a problem for a veteran in a preseason context. The games tend to be so low-impact and demand so few minutes out of a team's best players that they can safely jog through them. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green played 1...
Post a Comment
Read more

Shaquille O'Neal says Dennis Rodman was his worst teammate: 'He was a great player, but he made it hard'

  Shaquille O'Neal played for six franchises over a 20-year NBA career. That's a lot of teammates. Speaking on The Big Podcast with Shaq, the four-time champion and Hall of Famer revealed which one of those teammates was the worst.  "Worst teammate? Dennis Rodman," O'Neal said. "He was a great player, but he made it hard. Like when you try to corral the guys together and the people above you [are] letting this one guy do whatever he wants. So we had to be there an hour before the game. He'd come in fifteen minutes before the game eating chicken and rice. While the coaches are talking, he would jump in the shower. Cold shower. Come and give you 15-20 rebounds." O'Neal played with some characters in his time. We know about his beef with Kobe Bryant, who we know wasn't always the easiest teammate to get along with, though Shaq has long expressed regret over the way he and Bryant handled their relationship as young superstars, and eventually, he ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Kevin Durant injury update: Nets rule star out for home-and-home vs. Raptors, hopeful for return later in week

Brooklyn Nets star forward Kevin Durant is expected to return to the floor this upcoming week. Head coach Steve Nash says it just won't be against the Raptors, either Monday or Tuesday night in the team's home-and-home against Toronto. Durant has started doing more on-court work recently as he recovers from the sprained MCL he suffered in his left knee last month, and Nash is optimistic about his prognosis moving forward. The former MVP will not play on Monday night against the Toronto Raptors, however.  "I think with Kevin he's been a great healer throughout his career," Nash said Saturday. "So the No. 1 thing is to get him back healthy and feeling secure in his health and his body so he can move and be free. When he's back, obviously he adds a ton to our team on both ends of the floor ... one of the greatest scorers of all time. And we also know he helps us defensively; he gives us more size and length. So he's a big miss for us, and whenever he get...
Post a Comment
Read more