US striker Ricardo Pepi seen pole dancing in NETHERLANDS jersey after they knocked USA out of World Cup

Ricardo Pepi was dropped from the USA roster for the tournament despite his tremendous form and some mind-blowing goals
UPDATED DEC 5, 2022
Ricardo Pepi appeared to have lost a bet and donned the orange jersey as he danced (Screenshot from Stefan Bleeker/Twitter)
Ricardo Pepi appeared to have lost a bet and donned the orange jersey as he danced (Screenshot from Stefan Bleeker/Twitter)

GRONINGEN, NETHERLANDS: USA star striker Ricardo Pepi was recently seen showing his moves and pole dancing in a Netherlands jersey after the team knocked USMNT out of the Qatar world cup with a brutal 3-1 blow. The 19-year-old striker, who plays club soccer in Holland with Groningen, appeared to have lost a wager over the crucial knockout game.

A quirky video that's making the rounds on the internet shows Pepi putting on an orange Netherlands jersey with supporters clapping and yelling "Pepi!" in the background. The striker then climbs up to a stage and pole dances with the orange shirt on. Pepi’s comical moves gave the crowd at the Dutch nightclub a great time as they filmed him with huge amusement. On social media, several comments noted that Pepi had lost a bet and had to wear the shirt.

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“He lost a bet nobody better be hating,” one user wrote while another mocked him saying, “What a loser. Suppose Gravenberch did this in the event that the Netherlands lost to Germany, then we would have scolded him as well. He's a drunken idiot”



 

Despite displaying tremendous form and scoring some mind-blowing goals, Pepi was dropped from the USA roster for the tournament by coach Gregg Berhalter. The young player earned praise with six goals in nine games for Groningen after joining the Dutch team on loan from German side Augsburg. Given that Berhalter's side lacks a dependable striker, it was surprising that Pepi didn't make the US roster.



 



 

"Disappointing because I felt like I gave myself the best opportunities to be in the World Cup roster," Pepi said in November after the World Cup team was announced. "I felt like I had a chance, but also not disappointing at the same time because, as I said, I did my thing, I went out there, I played many minutes, I scored my goals. I’m really happy with that situation. At the end of the day, it’s a coach’s decision that I can’t control. I feel like once he told me, I wanted to flip the page as soon as possible and just focus on the game now. I can’t keep thinking about why I didn’t make it or why I did," he said, according to DailyMail.

Defending his decision, manager Gregg Berhalter said at the time, "The Dutch league, I think it's a great league, but it doesn't bring the same physicality that the Premier League or the Championship brings. That was something that went into the decision," according to Goal.com.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.

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