When Ricardo Pepi got the fateful call that every U.S. men's national team player dreaded — when Gregg Berhalter rang in early November to break the news that he wouldn't be going to the World Cup — Pepi hung up.
."It took me five minutes to get it in my mind. I just couldn't believe it. So he called his agent and then his dad. He never thought to ask Berhalter for an explanation, he said, because"I didn't want to give myself any excuses." He didn't want to know.
Which is what he did, and that work led him back to the USMNT four months later, for two CONCACAF Nations League games this past week. And in both, Pepi reminded teammates and fans of the teenage talent that had carried them through World Cup qualifying. He started and scored twice in a 7-1 pounding of Grenada on Friday.
He's likened it all to being on a"roller-coaster," an emotionally draining one. But he never leapt off.
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