Gregg Berhalter got almost everything wrong at the start of Wednesday night’s crucial World Cup qualifier in Honduras, except for one.
After fielding two different center-forwards in lackluster draws against El Salvador and Canada, the US men’s national team coach turned to 18-year-old FC Dallas prodigy Ricardo Pepi, a double international who just entered the program in August. Pepi sat down for the first two games, finally made his senior US debut in San Pedro Sula and over the course of a remarkable second half, played an extraordinary and seductive role in securing a critical win and saving the desperate qualification campaign of the Americans.
Pepi helped create three goals and scored the winner as visitors bounced back from an incredibly bad first half to defeat Honduras, 4-1, at the Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano. He scored only the second time the US has won a qualifier after falling behind at half-time (41 games), according to TruMedia, and the first was a 2013 game played after a World Cup seat was sealed. The Americans’ second-half performance was as dominant as they were helpless the first, leaving the United States with a 1-0-2 record after the opening octagonal window and drawing with Canada and Panama 2-4th in the last. Concacaf round.
The top three will qualify directly for Qatar while the fourth will access the intercontinental playoffs. The United States will host Jamaica (0-2-1) and Costa Rica (0-1-2) and travel to Panama (1-0-2) next month. Americans’ outlook and mood will be immeasurably brighter after Wednesday’s show. A grueling and demanding camp ended on a historically high note.
“Regarding negativity, we had a meeting and talked about excluding it, focusing on what we are doing. It is entirely understandable that the fans are not thrilled with two points in two games, but they would not have condemned the qualifiers. [if we’d lost Wednesday]”, Berhalter said after the win.” Despite all this crap that has happened in the last couple of days, the morale of the boys was extremely high. “
However, they couldn’t have been that high in the range. Almost everyone except Pepi was a disaster in the first 45 minutes. He was more of a spectator, as the listless and confused United States played what was arguably their worst half under Berhalter. Hoping to trigger an absent and frustrated team after two qualifying draws (and only one goal scored), Berhalter fielded the team in a 3-4-3 which represented a significant departure from his comfort zone.
Four players, including Pepi, were making their qualifying debut and a couple of others, Tyler Adams (right winger instead of center midfielder, his usual position in the US) and Josh Sargent (right winger instead of center forward), were out of their best positions. The lack of chemistry, connection and recognition was paralyzing. The 3-4-3 resulted in more frequent ball changes, which was something Berhalter was looking for, but Sargent was poor and Christian Pulisic, who was playing for the second time in four days after more than three weeks without a match at Following a positive diagnosis of COVID-19, she was often overwhelmed by the teeming and Honduran physicists.
The United States did not make a single shot on goal during the first half and fell behind in the 27th minute when John Brooks, who fell precipitously from his perch at the top of the center defender’s depth rankings, was shot badly in midfield . Honduras found space to their left behind Adams, and US left winger George Bello was unable to follow midfielder Brayan Moya, who plays his club ball in Angola. Goalkeeper Matt Turner had no chance on Moya’s diving header, and the Americans had absolutely no chance in a line-up that was giving so much space to Honduras and that was so awkward and unknown.
Berhalter deserves criticism for his flawed approach, but he deserves credit for acknowledging that he was wrong and making the necessary changes. That kind of self-awareness and humility cannot be taken for granted. Berhalter said he urged his players to press and be more proactive and combative. The USA started the second half with a more usual 4-3-3 and Brooks, Sargent and Bello gave way to Antonee Robinson, Sebastian Lletget and Brenden Aaronson. All three would help Pepi turn the tide.
“We needed to push much faster, condense the pitch, give our midfielders a smaller space to be able to win balls. We wanted to be more aggressive in high pressing and thought it would lead to some turnovers. And the subs did a great job all night, “Berhalter explained.” We needed to compete more. It was something that let me down. When they scored, instead of seeing that reaction we’re used to, I think the their heads dropped a bit and we had to figure out what kind of match it was going to be. “
The United States drew in the 48th minute. Pepi started the move with a tough and diligent heist game, and Pulisic took the ball into the heart of the Honduran defense before finding Lletget on the right. His cross hits Pepi and bounces off Robinson, who closes clearly on the right post.
Pulisic left the game with an ankle injury within an hour and was replaced by Cristian Roldan. About a dozen minutes later, Berhalter corrected another mistake, returning Adams to central midfield for overwhelmed James Sands and sending right-back DeAndre Yedlin to play right-back. Two minutes later, Pepi put the United States ahead, strikingly overtaking two defenders to direct home a Yedlin cross. All four substitutes touched the ball before Pepi’s header, a symbol of the reorganization and rebirth of the guests in the second half.
Pepi kept a couple of Hondurans at bay in the right channel and served Aaronson for the easy backbreaker in the 86th minute. Lletget then closed the scoring in recovery after taking home a rebound created by a shot from Pepi. The teenager was everywhere. His decisions were almost always spot on, his composure was that of an international veteran, and his touch and technique were almost flawless. Pepi scored 11 goals in 21 games for Dallas and became the second youngest US player to play a World Cup qualifier on Wednesday (Pulisic set the record in 2016). The El Paso, Texas native, who remains eligible to represent Mexico even after Wednesday’s game, appears to be more menacing and versatile than Sargent and more adept at finding ways to be dangerous in a variety of circumstances. Pepi could very well be the striker Berhalter was looking for.
“He did a great job,” Berhalter said. “He worked tirelessly, competed against physical central defenders, scored a really good goal and overall I think he had a good performance. For an 18-year-old, what he did is really impressive. “
Pepi said he focused on his team and what he needed, which helped ease his nerves. Focus on the collective, the spotlight fades and the good things follow.
“I was prepared for the moment. I trained, I was preparing with the team, ”said Pepi. “I went out there to help the team as much as possible. I ran. I ran in the field. I just wanted to win for the team. I gave my all for the team and personal things came. So I was very excited, very happy to help the team get the victory ”.
It’s hard to underestimate what Pepi’s emergence could mean for Berhalter, and it’s hard to underestimate what Wednesday’s victory could mean for the program. The defeat in San Pedro Sula, especially if it had come after a second half similar to the first, would have destroyed the momentum and optimism that remained generated during a summer in which the Americans won the titles of the Concacaf Gold Cup and the Nations League. It would reignite the post-traumatic stress that followed the elimination of the World Cup in Trinidad four years ago, and it would set the audience firmly against Berhalter three years after his tenure. Considering the time spent building this team and the culture around it, not to mention the roster of high-profile clubs employing so many of its players, a winless September window could have undermined team morale, not to mention. talk about Berhalter’s mandate.
Instead, the US will reunite in early October after writing a story of recovery and resilience. He lost Pulisic for the opening in El Salvador and for the last half hour on Wednesday. Reigning goalkeeper Zack Steffen missed all three games with back spasms and his coronavirus diagnosis. Gio Reyna and Sergiño Dest left the pitch early through injury, Tim Weah, Gyasi Zardes and many others were injured and sidelined the entire window. The players based in Europe are not yet fit for midseason. And, blatantly, midfield anchor Weston McKennie was omitted from Sunday’s game against Canada and then sacked altogether for violating the team’s rules in Nashville.
Combine these obstacles and distractions with travels, quick changes of direction and typical Concacaf headaches, not to mention the general lack of preparation for qualifying of the fresh-faced team (16 players made their qualifying debut this month ), and Wednesday’s win and the cumulative five points represent a respectable comeback. More importantly, they should elicit a significant sigh of relief for a team that needed them.
“We talked a lot before the first game about the fact that it was going to be a nine-point week and it was really important, and I think it’s great to have high expectations. Everyone wants to win games, right? But the other side is that it’s just talk. And then you have to go out and do it, and it’s very hard to do, ”Berhalter acknowledged.
“We needed to give these guys that experience. They needed to see what these games are like, because they are completely different games, “he continued.” They are wars. There are teams and countries that are desperate to win to get into the World Cup, and it’s a different animal than we were at. I think this whole window has been fantastic for this group. We really needed it in terms of opening our eyes to what this experience really is. To finish with a win was important … and also to come back like we did. ” .
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