The U.S. men’s national team is set to play two friendlies this week, setting up in Atlanta for matches against Belgium on Saturday and Portugal on Tuesday. This is the last chance for players to make an in-person impression on the coaching staff and earn their spot in the squad for the biggest tournament in American soccer history.
Here are three players who have a lot riding on these games.
Ricardo Pepi
At one point, Ricardo Pepi might have been seen as the future solution for the USMNT’s striker issues. That’s less certain now. He scores consistently for PSV in the Dutch Eredivisie, with 39 goals in 96 appearances since his 2023 move. And he’s clearly in demand at a higher level, as evidenced by Fulham’s (thus far unsuccessful) pursuit over the last six months.
But Pepi hasn’t been able to break into the picture under Marucio Pochettino. He’s featured just four times since 2024, not even called into six of Pochettino’s nine camps. He’s played just 15 minutes with the national team since November 2024, coming off the bench for the final bit of the 2-1 win over Paraguay last November.
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