Who is Ricardo Pepi? Club history, best position & USMNT stats so far
By Jamie Kemble
USNMT will be looking to pull off a home World Cup to remember this summer, and young talent Ricardo Pepi could be central to the effort.
The young PSV Eindhoven starlet has burst onto the scene in recent times, and there is excitement aplenty about his future, and indeed what he can offer at this summer's World Cup.
Here we introduce you to Pepi and what you need to know about one of USMNT's most exciting young players.
Who is Ricardo Pepi?
Ricardo Pepi is a Texas-born American striker. He is 23 years of age and stands at 6ft1". The forward was born in El Paso and grew up nearby, in San Elizario. He is of Mexican descent and still has close family ties to the country.
His father is a soccer coach, and it didn't take Pepi long to gain the attention of FC Dallas, who got him signed up at a young age. He joined their academy system at the age of 13. After scoring 18 goals in 15 games, he was promoted early to the under-17s at the age of 15, and he scored 19 goals in eight games despite playing above his age group.
Ricardo Pepi's career so far
After turning pro with Dallas FC, Pepi was sent to affiliate club North Texas SC, scoring nine goals in 13 league games. Upon his return to Dallas FC, Pepi scored 15 goals in 55 league appearances as a youngster and earned a move to FC Augsburg.
Pepi struggled to impress with Augsburg, failing to score in 15 league games, but he enjoyed a better time of things out on loan with FC Groningen, scoring 12 times in 29 league appearances. That bagged him a move to PSV, and after a very brief spell with their second side, he was promoted to the first team.
Pepi has enjoyed a fruitful spell in Eindhoven, scoring 31 goals in 68 Eredivisie games, and he remains a vital player for the Dutch side.
In terms of honours, Pepi has won the Eredivisie title three times, while won the USL League One title with North Texas SC in 2019. He was an MLS 2021 all-star with FC Dallas. Pepi has also won the CONCACAF Nations League with USMNT on two occasions.
Ricardo Pepi's USMNT stats
Appearances | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|
35 | 13 | 4 |
On the international level, Pepi won his first senior cap in 2021, having impressed with the under-17s setup previously, scoring six times in 17 appearances.
For the senior team, Pepi has scored 13 times in 35 games, also providing four assists. Pepi recently provided an assist in a friendly defeat to Belgium, but in recent times, his international involvement has been limited by a knee injury that saw him miss eight games in 2025, and he was also left out of the squad for the next six games due to him needing to get back up to speed.
The young forward has been called up for the last four games, but he has only managed two substitute appearances, spending the other two games on the bench.
After a season that has seen him score 16 times for PSV at club level, Pepi is hoping to make Mauricio Pochettino's USMNT squad for the World Cup this summer, and he has a solid chance of making the cut to back up likely starting frontman Folarin Balogun.