The US Men’s National Team will be happy with their 2023 performances. The team has seen some new exciting faces with the arrival of Folarin Balogun and Auston Trusty. While Christian Pulisic, the established star of the USMNT remains a contender, rising talent Ricardo Pepi has surprisingly emerged as a frontrunner for the Player of the Year title, according to an ex-player. This was mainly due to the ‘damage‘ he caused to the opposition while coming off the bench.

With the victories in the CONCACAF Nations League, the team had quite a few players who did their part perfectly, helping them excel. But what made a USMNT icon go for Ricardo Pepi instead of Christian Pulisic as the more deserving candidate?

Ricardo Pepe for the POTY over ‘Captain America’ Christian Pulisic?

Christian Pulisic hasn’t done much wrong for the Yanks this year. The AC Milan star has been a pillar for the national team since 2016. But the arrival of Ricardo Pepi has threatened his reputation as the best player. According to Herculez Gomez, Pepi is undoubtedly the POTY and the reason is that the star scored more in fewer minutes. Gomez on ESPN FC said, “Ricardo Pepi, come on down; he is your US Men’s National Team’s Player of the Year. He did majority of the damage coming off the bench.”

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Pulisic alone had a terrific year, with six goals and three assists in just eight games for the national team. On the other end, Pepi landed in a potential year of breakthrough for himself and the team. The player scored seven goals in 10 games by coming off the bench more and appearing in the starting eleven just twice this year. But the essence comes with the significance of the goals.

Pepi scored a match-winning goal against El Salvador in the Nations League. The player subsequently scored five of his seven goals in the CONCACAF Nations League. Whereas Pulisic scored three of his six during friendlies. Gomez considered the number of minutes, as Pepi came from the bench in most of the cases. Regarding his verdict, Gomes said, “He (Pulisic) is Captain America, the face of, I should tell US soccer. But I’m gonna stick with Ricardo Pepi.”

The USMNT will also be a part of Copa America 2024. The event will take place in their den, and the USMNT will hope to put on a competitive show. On the whole, as both the USMNT and USWNT await the POTY results in January, the men’s team will also look to build a formidable team for the next FIFA World Cup that the USA will co-host in 2026.

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