The World Cup didn’t mark the end of the U.S. men’s national team’s search for an every-game starter at center forward.
The USMNT’s CONCACAF Nations League roster saw some notable recalls and changes, but few caught the eye like interim manager Anthony Hudson bringing Ricardo Pepi and Daryl Dike in for a pair of games that he referred to as “must-win” while speaking to reporters on Wednesday.
“We’ve obviously not seen Ricardo or Daryl for for some time,” said Hudson. “We’re really pleased they’re both coming in. They’ve been away for a while, and we really believe that these two guys can help us in this camp.”
The choice to leave Pepi out of the USMNT squad at November’s World Cup was a surprise to many, with Gregg Berhalter calling on Jesús Ferreira, Haji Wright, and Josh Sargent instead. Dike, meanwhile, suffered a significant quadriceps strain in August that kept him off the field until three days after Berhalter’s 26-man roster was announced. None of that World Cup trio will be in the USMNT’s camp for March fixtures against Grenada and El Salvador.
At the World Cup itself, Wright was the only out-and-out striker to score (and it was one of the strangest goals of the entire tournament), Ferreira played just 45 minutes, and some of the minutes at the No. 9 position went to Gio Reyna.
Having to rely on Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah as the team’s chief goal threats isn’t by any means unworkable, but it’s no accident that the USMNT has kept the door open when it comes to forwards, whether the players are in the pool or not. Folarin Balogun would be a target for recruitment no matter how well things were going for the USMNT, but as long as no one has seized the starting job on a more regular basis, there’s added pressure to find a solution.
Club form for Pepi, Dike keeps Hudson’s attention
Pepi has been a menace in the Eredivisie, leading Groningen in goals and making the league’s February team of the month. For his part, Dike has five goals in his last 11 league appearances for West Brom, including three game-winners to help his side’s hopes of making the promotion playoffs in the Championship.
In other words, both have done what’s in their power to stay in the frame for the USMNT, and per Hudson — who said that he and other USMNT staff members had gone to Europe to watch both players in person — the recalls are exciting news.
“Ricardo, I understand the disappointment that he had missing out on the World Cup. I can’t imagine what that must have felt like, for a young player to go through that,” said Hudson on the Groningen striker. “He’s someone that we value. He did an amazing job for us in the last cycle… I think slowly now he is really finding form, finding confidence, and he’s been doing well. So we’re looking forward to him coming back in camp, and reintegrating him into the squad.”
Hudson said that Dike’s injury came at “an unfortunate time” last year, and said that his performances at both West Brom and his previous club Barnsley merit serious USMNT consideration.
“With Barnsley, I think when he went there, they were fighting relegation, and he had a massive part to play in scoring goals and getting them up to then pushing for [the promotion] playoffs,” explained Hudson. “He’s done really well, and then obviously he’s moved to West Brom. He had an injury, but again, he’s doing well.”
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