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The U.S. went from the brink of a disastrous start to qualifying to one that is considerably more palatable, thanks to an 18-year-old debutant and a series of moves after halftime in Honduras.

Gregg Berhalter got just about everything wrong at the beginning of Wednesday night’s pivotal World Cup qualifier in Honduras but one.

After starting two different center forwards in lackluster draws against El Salvador and Canada, the U.S. men's national team manager turned to 18-year-old FC Dallas prodigy Ricardo Pepi, a dual-national who just committed to the program in August. Pepi sat for the first two games, finally made his senior U.S. debut in San Pedro Sula and over the course of a remarkable second half, played a stunning and beguiling role in securing a critical victory and rescuing the desperate Americans’ qualifying campaign.


https://www.si.com/soccer/2021/09/09/us ... -berhalter