On crunch night in the Champions League, few teams face a tougher task than Dutch side PSV.
The league stage of the revamped tournament concludes on Wednesday, with the fate of many teams still undecided ahead of the playoff and knockout rounds. For the Eindhoven side, who are 19th in the 36-team table, a win at the Philips Stadion would ensure their Champions League progress remains in their own hands.
That objective, though, is easier said than done when the visitors are Liverpool, a team unbeaten in European football this season.
Arne Slot’s team are guaranteed to progress to the knockouts whatever happens, having won all seven of their league games so far. But for PSV and many other sides, there is much at stake. The top eight sides in the league qualify automatically for the last 16 but for those teams finishing in ninth to 24th place, a two-legged play-off awaits, with the winners joining the top eight teams in that round of the competition.
Good job, then, that PSV have a prolific young striker itching to seize his big chance. In USMNT striker Ricardo Pepi, they can call upon one of the most effective supersubs around.
Liverpool may have a wealth of attacking options, including the Premier League’s top-scorer Mohamed Salah, but none comes close to the remarkable habit Pepi has of scoring goals despite his limited time on the field.
Pepi’s 1.45 goals per 90 minutes in the Eredivisie this season (11 goals in 683 minutes) is the second-highest among players to have featured for at least 500 minutes in the top 10 European leagues this season. Only Bayer Leverkusen forward Patrik Schick, who is seven years Pepi’s senior, boasts a higher rate with 1.50.
Pepi is providing his team’s X Factor (EYE4images/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Despite the 22-year-old Texan having only started five league games — PSV head coach Peter Bosz has subbed Pepi on 13 times; twice he has been an unused substitute — he is still the club’s top scorer in the Eredivisie this season, and second only to FC Twente’s Sem Steijn overall.
But on Wednesday, Pepi will be in the team for his first start in the Champions League this term. He insists that, while being on the sidelines has been tough, he is ready to seize this opportunity.
“Whatever my role is, I will always be there,” Pepi said in the pre-match press conference on Tuesday as it emerged he will be selected to lead the line for PSV. “I’m ready for the chances I get and it’s up to me to take them. Of course, it’s difficult (not starting) sometimes. But it’s up to me to stay professional. I’m lucky I have a controlled character, which helps in my situation.”
There is a reason for Pepi’s relative inactivity. Bosz’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation leaves room for one striker and Pepi’s competition for that spot is PSV club icon and captain Luuk de Jong.
The 34-year-old De Jong has scored 181 goals for PSV and is also the club’s all-time leading scorer in the Champions League. The former Netherlands international retired from playing for his country to dedicate the twilight years of his top-flight career to delivering success with his club.
No. 9 Luuk de Jong is a PSV legend (ANP via Getty Images)
Bosz is frequently asked about his dilemma in finding the balance between playing De Jong and Pepi.
“We have two excellent strikers in the selection,” he told the PSV website in November. “Only they are two different types. Luuk is better at heading and Ricardo is very strong in depth. We adapt our game to that.”
De Jong is out of contract in June, while Pepi’s deal runs until the summer of 2028. The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf has reported that the club would like to extend Pepi’s deal until 2030. If correct, that suggests they are well aware of the need to protect one of their main assets. As Pepi’s lack of game time has become more of an issue, several top sides in Europe have taken a keen interest.
So while there could be attractive options around Europe for the American, alternatively, Pepi could decide that the apparent striking succession plan between him and de Jong is approaching the endgame at PSV. If he remains patient, he could be confident that more chances will come.
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Wednesday represents a significant platform for Pepi as he gets one of those big chances. How he fares up against Virgil van Dijk will only add further to the conjecture around his future.
“He’s a great player, so it will be a challenge,” said Pepi of facing the Dutch centre-back. “That goes for their entire selection; they are all top players with an incredible winner’s mentality. It’s a great opportunity to show what we can do. It’s a big test, but we have a great team and the qualities and resilience to get a result. No matter how difficult.”
With six days of the winter transfer window remaining, an impressive display could convince his admirers — rumoured to include Liverpool — to test PSV’s resolve to keep hold of their striker.
Pepi holds off Breda’s Leo Greiml (EYE4images/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
For Pepi, regardless of whether PSV make it to the next stage of Europe’s elite club competition or not, he must secure more minutes. Being drip-fed into senior football has had benefits, allowing him to learn on the job without the pressure to lead the PSV line consistently.
But with a home World Cup for the United States in 2026 and, in the shorter term, a Concacaf Nations League semi-final against Panama in March, he will want to cement his place among manager Mauricio Pochettino’s main forward options.
His rivals for a place in the team are starting to return to fitness and form after being sidelined with injuries. Josh Sargent scored a brace for his Norwich City at the weekend after missing 14 league games with a groin injury. The USMNT’s current first-choice in major games, Folarin Balogun, has also missed plenty of football for Monaco, who are third in France’s Ligue 1, after dislocating his shoulder. He hopes to return in February.
Meanwhile, in the USMNT’s recent friendly games earlier this month when the roster mostly comprised players from Major League Soccer, another potential rival emerged in Charlotte FC’s Patrick Agyemang, who scored two across the two friendly wins and managed 10 in 34 MLS games during 2024.
It all means that Pepi might feel his frustration growing at the chance of spending more of PSV’s season on the bench when he could be building experience ahead of the World Cup.
On Saturday, he scored his team’s final goal in the 3-2 win over NEC Breda that kept PSV top of the table, and four points ahead of their rivals for the league, Ajax. If Pepi can repeat his knack for timely strikes on Wednesday, his name will be in the headlines once more.
Pepi faces a critical few days: PSV’s Champions League progress is on the line and, with the winter transfer window about to close, there will be questions, too, around Pepi’s future and whether he should push for a move away from the club where he has built his supersub reputation.
Now up against Liverpool in the Champions League, Pepi can guide his and PSV’s fate under the glare of the global spotlight.
(Top photo: Maurice van Steen/ANP/AFP via Getty Images)
