The USMNT's new era has encountered its first major stumbling block.
After being forced out of action in an Eredivisie match against Twente due to an injury, forward Ricardo Pepi is now set to miss the upcoming international window. While the official diagnosis was not confirmed, the USMNT confirmed Sunday evening that St. Louis City forward Damion Downs would take Pepi's place in the national team.
Downs, who arrived at St. Louis City last month, has made five appearances for the MLS side. He has yet to record a goal contribution.
Despite heavy MLS presence, Pepi's injury is a blow for the USMNT's overall chemistry
I've already made the fact that the Philadelphia Union and the New England Revolution represent a considerable portion of this current USMNT roster. Combined, those two teams are sending five players to Atlanta ahead of the September-October window.
On top of that, 23 clubs will be represented via this USMNT lineup. Of those clubs, four of them will send multiple players to the Arthur M. Blank US Soccer National Training Center; those clubs include MLS' Revs and Union, in addition to Crystal Palace (Chris Richards and Zavier Gozo) and Red Bull New York (Julian Hall and Adri Mehmeti). But that latter number is down one from the five clubs sending multiple players, with that number decreasing as a result of Pepi's injury; both Pepi and Sergiño Dest were named from PSV.
While nine players will still join the USMNT with some degree of familiarity with their international teammates at the club level, Pepi's absence decreases that measure. Even if Downs puts together some strong performances in his USMNT return, it remains to be seen if he could replicate the kind of performance that Pepi could have put together as part of the same lineup as Dest.
That is especially true given that the defense has been built to create goals of its own. Having Pepi up front and Dest in the defensive group would have allowed Mauricio Pochettino to create a strong and confident connection between the defense and the forward group.
While Pochettino still has a trio of Union players and three pairs from other clubs, that former grouping is now his only direct link between the defense and the forward group when it comes to fielding a starting lineup with players familiar with one another at the club level. If a team were to shut down that trio, he'll have to count on a brand-new lineup of players being able to gain in-game familiarity as quickly as possible.
With Pepi in tow, that doesn't become too much of an issue. But with Pepi gone, it's now on Pochettino and this new USMNT lineup to gain renewed confidence on the pitch and to learn to win together.
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