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In one week, the United States men's national team will be kicking off their World Cup journey facing Wales on Nov. 21 but striker Ricardo Pepi won't be with them. If this was a normal summer World Cup, this wouldn't be a surprise as at the time he was on a scoreless run for almost a year after finishing a tough season with FC Augsburg. Pepi was left off of the summer roster for USMNT friendlies and Nations League by Gregg Berhalter for a mental break and he responded in a big way.

After being loaned to FC Groningen in the Eredivisie, Pepi has done nothing but score. He's racked up a goal or an assist in every match that he's featured in for the club but one. But the hot scoring that has seen Pepi total seven goals and two assists in all competitions wasn't enough to earn him a recall to the national team. Instead, Berhalter decided to go with Josh Sargent, Haji Wright, and Pepi's former club teammate Jesus Ferreira as the central strikers. Jordan Morris is also in the squad but he has been more of a defensive replacement on the wings than an out and out striker under Berhalter.

After being left out of the squad, Pepi showed Berhalter what he may be missing opening the scoring for Groningen before the half in their loss to Fortuna Sittard Sunday before the World Cup break. Following the match, Pepi was asked about his exclusion and had some interesting comments. 

"It's disappointing because I felt like I gave myself the best opportunity to be in the World Cup roster," Pepi said on his exclusion from the USMNT. "I felt like I had a chance but it was also not disappointing at the same time because I did my thing. I went out there, I played minutes and I scored goals so I'm really happy with that. At the end of the day, it's the coach's decision that I can't control."

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Compared to what he was doing in Germany, Pepi has a point. You can't ask for much more from a striker than seven goals and two assists in only 10 matches. Haji Wright is scoring at a similar clip in Turkey with 10 goals in 15 matches, but after those two, the numbers pale in comparison. That's true even though Ferreria had a strong season and Sargent is in the midst of a strong one as well. The Eredivisie is an attacker's paradise but still, Pepi's numbers can't be ignored.

And now Pepi's future is that much more uncertain as struggling Groningen are making a coaching change. Pepi's approach of controlling what he can, and working to ignore what he can't is certainly admirable, but this makes a whole bunch of stuff he can't control that he has to deal with at the moment.

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At the end of the day it is Berhalter's call and if he feels like his trio of strikers gives the USMNT the best chance of getting out of the group, then he should bring them. But, with an eye on the future, he could've looked for a way to bring Pepi. Only 19, Pepi has one of the brightest futures of anyone in the current national team pool, which is why it came down to the United States winning a dual national battle with Mexico for his services. 

"After [Berhalter] told me that I wasn't being selected, I just had to listen to what he said. I didn't ask any questions," Pepi said about if there were areas that he needed to improve moving forward. "I feel like once he told me, I just wanted to flip the page as soon as possible and just focus on the game now and I can't keep thinking about why I didn't make it."

He flipped the page in a big way by scoring but next up Pepi's biggest chance to impress will likely be the 2024 Olympics in Paris. But with Augsburg likely looking to capitalize on Pepi's strong form in the Netherlands to sell him, he's auditioning for his next club just as much as he is for the national team at this time. If Pepi is able to turn this disappointment into a big move, this could be the last time he misses the cut for a USMNT squad for a long time to come.

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