Ricardo Pepi continues to enjoy life in the Netherlands.
The U.S. men’s national team striker scored two goals for Groningen on Friday, as his side fell 3-2 to RKC Waalwijk in an Eredivisie match.
Pepi has played just four games for Groningen since joining on loan from Augsburg but he’s now scored four goals and added an assist in those matches.
It’s a notable turnaround for the 19-year-old, who failed to score or assist a goal for Augsburg after a $20 million move from FC Dallas in January.
Pepi scored from the penalty spot in the first half of Friday’s game, before adding another in the second half after some neat combination play with Florian Krüger.
— Eredivisie Goals (@EredivisieGolBR) October 7, 2022
Per Opta, Pepi has now become the first player this century to be directly involved in five goals in his first four Eredivisie matches with Groningen.
Pepi’s scoring blitz, of course, comes at a most opportune time for his World Cup chances. Having been handed a surprise recall for last month’s USMNT friendlies, the striker is doing everything he can at the club level to keep himself right in the mix for a World Cup roster spot.
With just one month until Gregg Berhalter names his 26-man squad, more night’s like Friday could see Pepi find his way onto the plane for Qatar.
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