Pepi Leads US Men’s National Team Over Jamaica

Ricardo Pepi, the eighteen-year-old sensation from El Paso, Texas, led the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) to a 2-0 win against the Jamaica National Team.  The match was played before a sellout crowd at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, and was the first World Cup qualifier played in Texas. 

The US entered the match tied for second place in the Concacaf’s qualifying round of World Cup standings.  The win moved the team past Mexico.  The USMNT improves to 19-3-8 all-time against Jamaica and is 6-1-6 in World Cup Qualifying.  The team extends their unbeaten streak reached 13 games (11-0-2).

Pepi became the youngest player to score in back-to-back World Cup qualifying matches, with three goals in the last two matches.  He is second to Christian Pulisic as the youngest to score multiple goals in a match. 

Pepi’s first goal came in the 49th minute after receiving a chipped crossing pass from Sergino Dest.  Pepi placed a header from seven yards out into the lower left of the net.  His second goal came in the 62nd minute.  Brenden Aaronson slipped a crossing pass past a sliding Jamaican defender to find a charging Pepi, who drove the ball past goalkeeper Andre Blake. 

US goalkeeper Matt Turner earned the clean sheet in the outing, facing five shots (one on-target). 

The USMNT starting lineup was the second youngest  fielded in a World Cup qualifier, with an average age of 23 years, 111 days.  The youngest-ever team was the US’s lineup again Honduras in the last match.  Five players made their qualifying debut this evening, bringing the total to 21 players making the premier through the first four matches.