A Mexican American soccer story: Ricardo Pepi's journey to the U.S. men's national team
If you look up “Ricardo Pepi” on the Internet you will find headlines using words like “prodigy,” “promise” and “hero” among the pages of transfer rumors linking the 18-year-old to a future in Europe.
It’s hard not to write about Pepi. He's playing his third professional season with Major League Soccer’s FC Dallas and has 15 career goals — 13 of which came this season. He's also earned a spot in the 2021 MLS All-Star Game, scored for the United States men's national team during his first start and inspired an FC Dallas employee’s tattoo.
“I feel like at some point you have to embrace it,” Pepi told USA Today Sports+. “I like to live in the present and I feel like anything that's going to happen in the future is going to come.”
Pepi's immediate future is joining the USMNT for its second International window of qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which begins Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. ET matchup against Jamaica.
But representing the U.S. wasn't his only option.
Born to Mexican parents in the city of El Paso, Pepi, like all dual national players, had a choice to make. At the youth level, Pepi had opportunities to represent both the U.S. and Mexican national teams. In 2021, after receiving offers from both countries, Pepi officially announced his decision to represent the US at the senior level.
“It was a hard decision that I had in my mind ever since I was like 13, 14 years old,” Pepi said. “Those were conversations that I definitely had with my dad and my agent. They were totally supportive about it. They're like, ‘It's your decision. You play for whoever you want to play for and we'll be there supporting you.’”
Pepi is not alone when it comes to young Mexican American soccer players, many of whom play in MLS and have faced the choice between countries just as their professional careers take off.
LA Galaxy midfielder Efrain Álvarez announced in June he would represent Mexico. Meanwhile, Galaxy teammate Julián Araujo had already represented the U.S. at the youth level and made a senior team appearance in December. In September, FIFA approved his request for a one-time switch from the U.S. to represent Mexico.
“The best part of being Mexican American is that I carry two flags. It’s one of the things about myself that brings me great pride,” read a social post by Araujo’s account. “My heart is with Mexico.”
Real Salt Lake goalkeeper David Ochoa joined the U.S. during the Nations League tournament last summer, but did not see playing time. He said in a Players Tribune piece he was committed to representing Mexico. Though Pepi chose the United States, his reasoning echoed that of his fellow dual national peers.
He chose with his heart.
“I've actually had some conversations, not only with Mexican Americans, but I have a coach down in Dallas that I always used to talk to,” Pepi said, referring to former youth French international player and current FC Dallas assistant coach Peter Luccin. “He told me, ‘You're going to represent a team that you feel you want to represent the most. It's got to come out of your heart and it can't be out of your head.’
"I listened to that, took that advice and I feel like right now I've made the best decision that I could.”
Choosing to play for the U.S. doesn’t mean Pepi abandoned his Mexican heritage. He feels he still represents both nations.
“People get a little confused because I chose the U.S. Somehow I'm not Mexican anymore. I feel like that's not how it works,” Pepi said. “I chose to represent the U.S. on the field, but off the field, I'm Mexican. My family, my parents are Mexican. At home, I speak Spanish. At home, I eat Mexican food. It's my culture. I'm a Mexican American and I embrace both cultures.”
Pepi's first chance to represent the senior U.S. national team as a starter came last World Cup qualifying window during the last of three games.
About halfway through that game against Honduras, the teenage forward emerged as a spark in the eyes of the U.S. faithful, who have been waiting almost four years for another chance to qualify for the World Cup and even longer — arguably since Jozy Altidore, now 31 — for a young, promising true striker.
Down 1-0 against Honduras at halftime, Pepi quickly turned the game in the United States’ favor. In the 48th minute, running toward goal, Pepi clipped a cross from midfielder Sebastian Lletget to Antonee Robinson to put the U.S. level with Honduras. Thirty minutes later, Pepi had a goal of his own.
"I think it's incredible," USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter later said on the U.S. Soccer Podcast. "Think about 18 years old, makes his debut in Honduras, a notoriously difficult place to play, ends up having a goal and assist in playing 90 minutes. I mean, that was incredible.”
Pepi was the second youngest U.S. man, behind Christian Pulisic, to appear in a World Cup qualifying match.
“I made my decision with the heart and I was ready to fight for the team,” Pepi said. “It was a special feeling to be able to put on the jersey and obviously win that game.”
This round of qualifying, the U.S. plays Jamaica on Thursday in Austin; Panama in Panama City at 6 p.m. Sunday; and closes the window against Costa Rica in Columbus, Ohio at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
There are eight Concacaf teams from North and Central America in the USMNT’s qualifying regional group called the Octagonal. The top three teams from the group automatically qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, while the fourth-place team must play an intercontinental playoff game to determine its fate.
The United States will face its biggest Concacaf rival, Mexico, during the next window on Nov. 12 in Cincinnati, Ohio. While Pepi prefers to live in the present, he allowed himself to visualize what it would be like to play against Mexico in a World Cup qualifying game.
“As a teenager, I would always think about playing for one nation. There's that rivalry between Mexico and the U.S.," Pepi said. "I feel like that would be a special moment not only for me, but for my family because I've talked to them about it when I was younger. It would be amazing to be able to play in that game … just to feel that tension.”
And if he were to score a goal against Mexico, would he celebrate?
“I feel like I would, especially because I feel like my teammates would be so happy. I feel like the whole nation would be happy, so I would have to celebrate, for sure. That would be a special moment for me.”
If you have the chance to talk to Pepi, you might soon forget he is still very much a teenager. He is the youngest member in the current group of USMNT players at camp, one that boasted its youngest-ever starting XI in a World Cup qualifying match in the win last month against Honduras.
Pepi speaks with a natural confidence and poise that mirror his presence in front of goal. But, away from his hard work on the soccer field, he is an 18-year-old who enjoys a quality barbacoa taco and a game of Lotería with his family.
Pepi's confidence shines off the field, too. When asked who wins the most in a family game of Lotería, he's quick to answer, “Me, I’m the best.”
“No, I'm playing," Pepi quickly adds with a smile. "There's people like my grandma. I don't know what it is, but they're so good at it. Honestly, if you asked me, there's no skill for it. I don't know how they managed to win every time.”
Family is part of what makes Pepi so successful. When he first joined the FC Dallas academy in Frisco, Texas, he spent almost a year living nine hours away from his family in El Paso. The distance was difficult for the then 14-year-old and Pepi’s father Daniel asked if he could continue living that way.
“He gave me the answer I needed," Daniel said in a Dallas Morning News article. "He said, ‘You know Dad, I want badly for you to be here with me, but I’m following my dreams.' He was crying, and that was pretty much it.
"We moved here within about a month.”
The rest of the Pepi’s family — Daniel, his mother Anette, his sister Sophia and his brother Diego — soon joined him in Frisco. Daniel works long days as a construction supervisor, while Anette works cleaning jobs, including at the Dallas Cowboys’ headquarters, a 91-acre campus called The Star, according to The Dallas Morning News.
The lessons of his Mexican parents make Pepi feel every bit of his Mexican culture, even, if not especially, when he's representing the U.S.
“I was a humble kid that always wanted to work hard for whatever he wanted, and whatever he achieved was always from hard work,” Pepi said. “My parents have always raised me that way. They've always been hardworking parents and have always wanted a better life for me and my siblings. So when I achieve something or when I become successful, that's when I really think about Mexican culture and the Mexican in me.”
Pepi has played 27 FC Dallas games this season and is the youngest player among the top-10 goal scorers in the league this year with 13 goals and three assists. The club success, along with his burst onto the national team scene, helped garner buzz around Pepi and a potential transfer to a European club. He hasn't denied the interest, but said he remains focused on the present.
“It has always been a dream, ever since I was a young kid. I feel like every player that plays soccer eventually wants to go play in Europe,” Pepi said. “I live in the moment. I live in the present, so whatever happens is going to happen and I'm going to work to definitely be in Europe soon.”
Whether it’s in Texas, Mexico or somewhere in Europe, Pepi carries with him his Mexican American roots. Because for Pepi, home isn’t necessarily a place.
“Whenever people ask me where home is, I always like to think about my family,” Pepi said. “Wherever I bring my family, or if I'm in Europe and my family is with me, then I feel like I could call that home.
"Obviously my home is El Paso and I have most of my family there, but when it comes to just having my parents and my siblings around me, I feel like I'm at home with them.”