Anime & FIFA! USMNT star Ricardo Pepi reveals hobbies outside of football while reflecting on shock 2022 World Cup snub

The 21-year-old forward is fully committed to his day job, with there plenty of potential still to be unlocked in his game. He is, after leaving an MLS comfort zone at FC Dallas in 2022, currently on the books of unbeaten Eredivisie title hopefuls PSV. He has registered seven goals for them this season, but is aware of the need to have something that helps to take his mind off football when relaxing away from the field.

Pepi has told The Athletic when asked about his hobbies: “Most of the time I’m just watching Anime. I love Naruto. It’s my go-to. I grew up with an uncle and brother who enjoyed it and about three years ago I really got into it. Sometimes I will play video games with my friends back home. Most of them go to school (university), so they have some free time in the middle of the day and we get some spare time to play FIFA.”

Pepi has been in relaxed mood this season, but that was not always the case last term. He was surprisingly left out of the USMNT squad for the 2022 World Cup, with Pepi adding on how he had to explain that snub to family and friends: “Every time I think about it I’m like, ‘It really happened’. It caught me off-guard. Speaking to my family and my agent at the time, I felt I had a good opportunity to go, so it definitely hurt but I have used that pain as fuel to spur me onto better things. I remember calling my agent. I swear, for the first 10 minutes I had to convince him I wasn’t joking with him. It was the same with my father, they were like, ‘OK, are you done playing now?’. It was difficult but, in a way, I’m grateful for everything that happened. You’ve just got to turn everything into energy.”

A return to international favour has been enjoyed since missing out on tickets to Qatar, with Pepi up to 10 goals through 22 appearances for his country. He is competing with the likes of Folarin Balogun and Josh Sargent for the right to lead the USMNT into bids for ultimate glory at the CONCACAF Nations League finals and 2024 Copa America.