Halftime of the 2021 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target produced encouraging news for US menās national team fans, with FS1ās Stuart Holden reporting that FC Dallas forward Ricardo Pepi will be on the Yanksā roster for Septemberās World Cup Qualifiers.
The 18-year-old El Paso, Texas, nativeās international future has been the subject of great debate, as heās also eligible to represent Mexico. Heās featured extensively for both nationsā youth national teams, and has been heavily recruited by the Concacaf rivals ahead of his senior-team debut.
Holden cautioned that itās not an ironclad situation, though the homegrown goalscorer is trending toward being a No. 9 for the USMNT.
āA huge moment for the young man that has been red-hot for FC Dallas, nine goals for them this season,ā Holden said. āAnd does it mean heās cap-tied? No, that's a little bit tricky. Heās under 21 years old, it starts to get nuanced because of FIFAās rules. Even if he was to play in all three qualifiers, that would not officially cap-tie him to the US menās national team.
āBut we can confirm heās on that roster. It sounds like he will be heading into camp. What does that mean? Has he officially committed? Weāll have to wait and hear that from him himself, but all signs are certainly pointing there and a very big get it would seem for the US menās national team.ā
Earlier this week, Pepi told MLSsoccer.comās Charles Boehm that he felt ājust stuck in the middleā of an international tug-of-war. But with Holdenās report and the USMNT roster set to drop Thursday, Pepi is nearing a resolution.
The USMNT will open their Octagonal campaign on Sept. 2 at El Salvador, then host Canada on Sept. 5 in Nashville before closing with a Sept. 8 game at Honduras.