Phenoms

Latest Ricardo Pepi goal puts him alongside Luis Suárez in Groningen history

FC Groningen's relegation from the Eredivisie was confirmed Sunday following a 1-1 away draw at Go Ahead Eagles, although USMNT striker Ricardo Pepi provided a brief glimmer of hope (as he has all season) when he opened the scoring for the visitors in the sixth-minute.

This was Pepi's 12th goal of the campaign to go along with three assists, giving him 15 goal involvements in 26 games. The last 20-year-old to reach that benchmark for Groningen was one Luis Suárez, who scored 10 goals and created six more during the 2006-07 campaign.

The neck and neck goalscoring battle between Ricardo Pepi and Santi Giménez in the Eredivisie

The spicy rivalry between the USMNT and México is having a remarkable round in the 2022-23 Eredivisie as strikers Ricardo Pepi and Santiago Giménez battle neck and neck among the division's top scorers. After 29 games, both have netted 11 goals and are just three behind Xavi Simmons (PSV) and Anastasios Douvikas (FC Utrecht), who currently lead the race with 14 each.

Although the realities of their teams are extremely different, Pepi and Giménez are not giving space to each other with both finding the net again this weekend.

While Los Blancos were beating Chelsea, Real Madrid loanee Brahim Díaz was lifting Milan over Napoli

In beating Napoli 1-0 in their Champions League quarterfinal first leg at the San Siro, Milan exemplified all the UCL cliché's that Real Madrid have entirely owned and turned into bonafide pieces of wisdom over the last decade. Hell, Milan even used a Real Madrid loanee to get it done.  

Cliché No. 1, you need to be street wise — basically you need to be in the mold of Theo Hernández.

Ricardo Pepi reaches double figures in the Eredivisie with another impressive goal

With just seven matches remaining in the Eredivisie season, Groningen slipped closer to relegation following a 3-1 away defeat to Fortuna Sittard on Sunday. They're seven points from safety and looking destined for the Eerste Divisie.

The lone bright spot for Groningen has been 20-year-old American striker Ricardo Pepi, who's on a year-long loan from FC Augsburg. Pepi scored Groningen's lone goal of the match and now has 10 this season to go with three assists. 

The club has only managed 26 goals in 27 games, but Pepi has now been involved in 50% of them.

USMNT player ratings vs. El Salvador: All aboard the Pepi train!

The USMNT got the job done Monday night by beating El Salvador 1-0 at Exploria Stadium to advance to this summer's CONCACAF Nations League Finals in Las Vegas. 

The Americans needed only a draw to make it happen, and everyone at home probably would've agreed to that after a scoreless opening 45 that was painful to watch. USMNT wordsmith Anthony Hudson called it "a little bit too transitiony." The highlight was La Selecta fans starting an "olé!" chant after stringing together a couple passes, only for a guy to pass it straight to Daryl Dike. 

Great week for the Pepi family: Little brother Diego makes debut in MLS NEXT Pro

Pepis rule.

Last Friday, Ricardo Pepi (age 20) made his triumphant return to the USMNT by scoring a brace against Grenada — his first international goals dating back to October 2021, a drought that ultimately cost him a place on the World Cup roster.

18-year-old Alyssa Thompson scores memorable goal on NWSL debut

We already knew that Alyssa Thompson was special. The 18-year-old made history when Angel City, with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft, made her the first-ever selection straight out of high school. 

Then, back on March 9, she scored her first goal for the club in a friendly win over América — a remarkable dribble from the center circle that left four defenders and the goalkeeper in her wake.

Trinity Rodman begins new season with an unstoppable performance against OL Reign

Opening weekend of the NWSL season continued Sunday with the Washington Spirit welcoming OL Reign to Audi Field, where Trinity Rodman brought the crowd to its feet with some sublime quality on the ball and a solo game-winner in the second half.

We had a scoreless opening 45 in the nation's capital, but Rodman established herself as the standout player with a couple brilliant moments. 

One run from deep inside her own half was finished with a backheel pass and half-chance for Ashley Hatch.  

Smiling Saka dazzles for England again

LONDON - Bukayo Saka is one of the first names on England manager Gareth Southgate's teamsheet and his weekly performances for Arsenal are driving them towards the Premier League title so it's no wonder the 21-year-old cannot stop smiling.

The winger created England's opener for Harry Kane in the comfortable 2-0 victory over Ukraine in Euro 2024 qualifying Group C at Wembley on Sunday, then scored an absolute beauty himself to seal the man-of-the-match award.

Meet Evan FerGOATson, the 18-year-old phenom who's here to save Ireland

Goalscoring has been an awfully bleak exercise for the Republic of Ireland since all-time leading scorer Robbie Keane announced his international retirement in 2016. The team only scored seven goals in nine matches during a failed qualifying cycle for Euro 2020, and things didn't get much better on the road to Qatar where Ireland only scored 11 in eight games (the majority coming against Luxembourg and Azerbaijan).

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