SEATTLE \u2013<\/strong> As the story goes, Ricardo Pepi hung up the phone on former U.S. men\u2019s national team coach Gregg Berhalter when he was informed that he didn\u2019t make the 2022 World Cup roster.<\/p>\n Less than four years later, Pepi was driving in the car with his father when he received a WhatsApp notification from Mauricio Pochettino. The message? He was part of the 26-man squad heading to this summer\u2019s tournament on home soil.<\/p>\n “I showed it to him and he immediately started crying a little bit,” said Pepi \u2013 who was coached by his dad when he was a kid \u2013 back in June ahead of the USA’s World Cup campaign.<\/p>\n Ricardo Pepi will be the main candidate to start vs. Belgium (Photo by Eric Verhoeven\/Soccrates\/Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n “Being left off is obviously not nice, but [I\u2019ve been] using that in a good way to be able to be in this World Cup. I felt like it helped me grow. It matured me a little bit. So it was part of the process.”<\/p>\n Pepi has appeared in all four of the USA\u2019s World Cup games so far, starting two. He may get a massive opportunity on Monday against Belgium in the round of 16 catchup at Seattle Stadium due to starting striker Folarin Balogun’s suspension after being shown a controversial red card in last week\u2019s resilient win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.<\/p>\n There are a few different ways Pochettino could adjust his lineup to account for Balogun’s absence. The simplest option would be to keep the other 10 starters intact and plug in either Pepi or Haji Wright up top, even though each brings a different skill set. Or Pochettino could opt for a more creative tweak, similar to when he paired Pepi and Balogun together against Australia after Christian Pulisic was sidelined with a calf injury.<\/p>\n We won’t know Pochettino’s tactical approach until kickoff, but if Pepi gets the start, his teammates have full confidence in him.<\/p>\n Haji Wright is another option to start up top for th euSA. (Photo by John Dorton\/USSF\/Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n He regained his form after returning from injury, finishing the club season with six goals in his final five appearances. He carried that momentum into the Americans’ pre-tournament friendly against Senegal and although he didn’t score, his chemistry with Pulisic was evident as he recorded an assist and helped spark the attack.<\/p>\n “Pepi is a killer,” Pochettino told reporters in May. “He’s a player that has the capacity to read where the space is to the ball, arrive to the ball, and have the possibility to score and to create chances, sometimes, from nowhere.”\u00a0<\/p>\n And big European clubs have noticed. Earlier this year, for example, rumors swirled about a potential summer transfer to Fulham. It never materialized, but a strong performance against Belgium could reignite interest.<\/p>\n “His finishing is really good \u2013 he can be really important with his finishing for us,” Sergi\u00f1o Dest, who plays with Pepi at PSV, said Saturday. “And also he\u2019s comfortable playing. He played some great games already. He fits in the team well. He\u2019s a different type of striker, but now, if he plays [against Belgium], it\u2019s his chance to show what he\u2019s capable of.”<\/p>\n Losing your leading goalscorer during the knockout stage of a World Cup might sound like the worst-case scenario, but the Americans aren\u2019t stressed. Pochettino has built the group to value the team over individuals and it\u2019s seeped into their identity.<\/p>\n “One man\u2019s down, the next steps up,” defender Chris Richards said after the win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. “We\u2019re more than just one player.”<\/p>\n Balogun, who spoke to the media on Friday, said he will do everything to support the team \u2013 and Pepi in particular if his name is called.<\/p>\n “Whatever he needs, whatever he needs,” Balogun said. “I\u2019m not the sort of person who\u2019s going to bombard you \u2013 I\u2019m quite a reserved person in general \u2013 but whatever he needs. And not just him, but anyone in the team. They need any advice or anything in any way I can help. I’m more than happy to do that.<\/p>\n “I’ve always said the team comes first, so whether I’m out there or not, it will be no different.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY SEATTLE \u2013 As the story goes, Ricardo Pepi hung up the phone on former U.S. men\u2019s national team coach Gregg Berhalter when he was informed that he didn\u2019t make the 2022 World Cup roster. Less than four years later, Pepi was driving in the car with his father when he received […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6168,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6169\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}