USMNT
USMNT’s Ricardo Pepi sends a message to Mexico after beating them 3-0
The US striker scored the third goal in a 3-0 win over Mexico and did not hold back with his post-game comments.
It was a game full of battles, red cards, controversy and even unsavoury insults from the crowd, but the USMNT came out on top against Mexico in the Concacaf Nations League semi-final, a result that sealed the dominance of the Stars and Stripes over El Tri.
The US side, now led once again by Gregg Berhalter, are now unbeaten in 6 games against their neighbours and the 3-0 result confirms their status as one of the strongest sides in Concacaf. On the night at Allegiant Stadium, Christian Pulisic was the hero with goals in either half, but it was Ricardo Pepi who got the third and put any hopes of a comeback to bed.
‘Winning 3-0 reaffirms my decision’ to play for USA, says Pepi
After the final whistle, Pepi spoke to the mixed zone in the stadium and sent a strong message to the Mexican National Team, saying that the result made him sure that he had made the correct decision in choosing to represent the USMNT instead of El Tri.
“The truth is that I never had any doubts regarding my decision and being here; winning 3-0 reaffirms my decision and it makes me really happy”, the striker said after scoring a goal to send the US through to the Nations League final against Canada.
Mexican despair:
Pepi says his speciality is being ‘calm and collected’
The striker, who has played for teams such as FC Dallas and Augsburg, assured that the win over their continental neighbours is a product of the work the team have put into the process that the US have started with the objective of becoming the undisputed best team in the Concacaf federation, a title that many would say they currently hold already. “Everyone’s been working to one day be the best and every day we’re working to be the team that we are now, we want to keep winning. A 3-0 against Mexico doesn’t happen every day and we are very happy about the result.”
He also mentioned his personal mentality and how it helps him to be able to impact games, even when he doesn’t make it into the starting XI: “Two-zero is never a good result; it’s never easy, but coming off the bench, scoring the third goal, felt amazing...I always try to come into the game with a positive mindset and I always want to score goals.”. When asked how he managed to have the presence of mind to slide past Guillermo Ochoa, Pepi was as cool in his response as he was in his finishing, saying “I’m just calm and collected in front of goal, that’s my speciality.”