El Paso native Ricardo Pepi misses cut for U.S. World Cup squad

EL PASO, Texas -- Ricardo Pepi is not among the 26-man roster that will represent the U.S. national team at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar later this month.

Head coach Gregg Berhalter announced his roster Wednesday live on national television.

Pepi made his debut in World Cup Qualifying scoring three goals in his first three games with the national team in 2021 but has struggled since.

Pepi moved from FC Dallas to German club FC Augsburg in January, where he had little playing time and moved to Dutch team FC Groningen in August to get more playing time.

Though he recovered his scoring form, netting five goals in eight games, it was not enough to be considered part of the team heading to Qatar.

Berhalter called strikers Jesus Ferreira, Josh Sargent and Haji Wright for his World Cup team.