USMNT Stock Up, Stock Down: Chris Richards Soars, Ricardo Pepi Tumbles

The U.S. men’s national team is back together.

The band of 28 Americans touched down in Atlanta on Monday for the start of a two-week, extended international camp, reuniting for the first time since the 2026 World Cup in July.

There was joyful embraces and excited chatter among the Stars and Stripes, but also much work to be done. Mauricio Pochettino’s men have four fall friendlies on the docket, beginning with Peru on Saturday in Orlando. The Argentine boss has called up a dozen newcomers, meaning the 13 returning World Cup stars will have heightened responsibilities in order to catch the debutants up to speed.

Some players are in better positions than others for the weeks of international play ahead, while others are stuck watching from home.

Here is Sports Illustrated’s weekly stock up, stock down analysis for the USMNT players.

USMNT Stock Up

Chris Richards

Reportedly joining the rest of the USMNT on Wednesday, Chris Richards will surely barge into camp red-hot. The 6'2" center back has always held an unshakeable place in Pochettino’s backline, but he’ll feel extra confident in his abilities after his performances with club side Crystal Palace over the last week.

The 26-year-old played a starring role in Palace’s 4–0 victory over Polish side Lech Poznań on Thursday in the first round of the Europa League. It’s just the third time in club history that the Eagles are participating in a European competition and their first time competing in the Europa League specifically.

Richards scored a pinpoint header off of a corner kick in the 27th minute. Posting up near the back corner of the penalty box, the American had to whip the ball nearly 15 yards through the fingertips of goalkeeper Mateusz Lis and into the opposite corner of the net.

It may have marked Richards’s first European goal, but the clean sheet is what stuck with the defender most.

“That meant more to me than the goal,” Richards said postgame on TNT Sports. “It was very exciting for us. Obviously keeping clean sheets is what keeps me going everyday. And also for me to have a goal on top of it, it was a perfect day.”

Richards followed up Thursday’s display with another clean sheet over the weekend, holding Leeds United to a scoreless draw in Sunday’s Premier League match on the road. He alone had 10 defensive contributions and eight clearances to make the result possible.

Peyton Miller

miller shooting — Peyton Miller scored a brace on Saturday. | Andrew Katsampes/ISI Photos/Getty Images

One of Pochettino’s first-timers, 18-year-old Peyton Miller has a recent dazzling display to call upon to calm his jitters.

The winger scored a brace on Saturday to lift the New England Revolution to a 4–2 victory over Orlando City at Gillette Stadium and into second place in the Eastern Conference standings, leapfrogging Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami. It marked the teenager’s first-career brace and brings him to seven goals so far this season.

His first of the night came at the hour mark and put Miller’s speed to the test. He sprinted roughly 75 yards from deep inside New England’s half into Orlando’s final third, outpacing three Lions’ defenders to get on the end of a through-ball before taking a left-footed blast just inside the 18-yard box.

Miller’s second goal was even more thrilling—a game-winner in the third minute of stoppage time. He once again used his speed to blow past a defender and get on the end of a through-ball into the box. It was another left-footed finish from the youngster, who walked away with MLS Player of the Matchday honors.

USMNT Stock Down

Ricardo Pepi

A successful few weeks for club side PSV Eindhoven saw Ricardo Pepi earn the nod from Pochettino for the upcoming international window, the only World Cup player to be included in the list of forwards—the only forward with a senior cap, for that matter.

It would have been a key opportunity for the 23-year-old striker to establish himself as a starter in this new, younger era of the Stars and Stripes, especially amid the absence of Folarin Balogun, for whom he served as a back-up all summer.

However, Pepi will now be forced to watch the matches from home. He suffered an injury on Sunday in the match against FC Twente and has been replaced by 22-year-old forward Damion Downs in Pochettino’s roster.

Pepi went down in just the eighth minute of PSV’s game, sinking to the turf with a suspected muscular injury. He was able to walk off the pitch, however gingerly. The specifics of his injury are not yet known, nor is the timeline for his recovery.

Johnny Cardoso

cardoso dribbling — Johnny Cardoso starred in the Madrid derby. | Oscar J. Barroso/Europa Press/Getty Images

It seems like no matter what Johnny Cardoso does, he cannot capture the attention of Pochettino.

The 25-year-old Atlético Madrid midfielder missed out on a chance to play in the World Cup, suffering a high-grade ankle sprain in May, which required surgery. He has since returned to the pitch and is dominating in one of the world’s most competitive leagues. Nevertheless, he cannot seem to re-situate himself within the national team radar and was not called up for the September–October window.

He logged nearly 90 minutes in both of Atléti’s last two La Liga matches. He provided an assist in Wednesday’s 4–0 victory over Osasuna, before playing a pivotal role in Sunday’s massive 2–1 Madrid derby win over Real Madrid. In the latter, he was responsible for curbing the advances of the likes of Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé through the center of the park.

If Cardoso continues performing like this—and even leaves his mark in the Champions League this season, how much longer can Pochettino ignore him?

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