USMNT to start Christian Pulisic, Ricardo Pepi for final World Cup warm-up game

Christian Pulisic and Ricardo Pepi will join the U.S. starting lineup for the Americans’ last World Cup warmup against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday after Coach Gregg Berhalter admitted “we got our butts kicked” by Japan last week.

The 14th-ranked U.S. failed to get a single shot on target in Friday’s 2-0 defeat to No. 24 Japan, a match Pulisic missed because of an unspecified injury.

“I think it was a poor performance from us. We got our butts kicked and we’re not proud of it,” Berhalter said Monday in Murcia, Spain, ahead of the last exhibition. “We think we should have played much better, we could have played much better, and we didn’t. So we want to play better in this game. But I think it starts with the collective, us playing together more cohesive. And if we can do that, we’ll be fine.”

“I’m really glad the game happened when it did,” he added. “It was poor coaching, poor execution, poor training beforehand, a lot of everything. It’s just one of those games and we were very bad.”

While Berhalter said he expects his side to get back up to speed against Saudi Arabia, he said the Japan match is also a lesson he will factor in when the players arrive in Qatar and begin their final preparations ahead of the World Cup.

“I think it’s the mindset of preparing the guys ahead of time a little bit,” he said. “And then when they’re in camp, right from the beginning, focusing on the big picture rather than details again, which is usually a national team thing anyway.”

Berhalter plans to announce his 26-man World Cup roster on Nov. 9, 12 days before the Americans open in Qatar against No. 19 Wales. The U.S. plays fifth-ranked England on Black Friday and closes the first round against 22nd-ranked Iran on Nov. 29.

For players, a trip to the World Cup is a highlight of their careers, leading to intense pressure to make the roster.

“Naturally, guys are going to be nervous,” said 29-year-old right back DeAndre Yedlin, who is likely to be the only holdover from the 2014 U.S. World Cup squad. “It’s just down to crunch time now. So like I said, obviously guys can have anxiety or whatever about making the squad, but we just need to do what’s best for the team.”

Goalkeeper Zack Steffen, left back Antonee Robinson, central defender Chris Richards, midfielder Yunus Musah and winger Tim Weah are not in camp because of injuries, and backup right back Reggie Cannon emerged from Friday’s match with an injured groin.

“Do I think that we have the best players in each position identified? Yes. Do I think they’re all going to be available for start of the World Cup? I don’t know,” Berhalter said. “And that’s just what every international manager will be dealing with right now. We’ll be holding our breaths, hoping that that’s the case. But even in this camp, we’re missing five starters. So it just is what it is. And you got to roll with it. And you can’t use it as an excuse. And what you need to do is give the players that are here confidence instead of worrying about the players that aren’t here.”

“Fitness is going be a factor,” he said in relation to his final roster selections. “I mean, I would love if you told me Chris Richards is going to be a part of the team right now, he’s going to be fit by November. I would say, ‘You know, he’ll make the team.’ I just don’t know that though. It’s really hard, and it’s frustrating.”

Jesús Ferreira played at forward in the first half against Japan, putting an open header wide, and Josh Sargent replaced him for the second half in his first national team appearance in a year.

Pepi ended a 30-match, 345-day scoreless streak for club and country when he scored his first goal for Groningen on Sept. 17.

“This is a great opportunity to look at Ricardo,” Berhalter said. “Jordan, you know what he’s doing. But Rico, he’s just gotten to Groningen. This is a great opportunity for us to look at him. A guy who scored three goals for us in qualifying, it’s important for us to get him in the group.”

And Berhalter has been criticized by some for not selecting Jordan Pefok, who scored three goals in his first six Bundesliga matches this season with Union Berlin.

No.­ 53 Saudi Arabia played a scoreless draw against World Cup-bound Ecuador on Friday in Murcia. The Saudis play No. 3 Argentina, 26th-ranked Poland and No. 12 Mexico at the tournament.

“I don’t really see them similar to the opponents in our group,” Berhalter said, “but it’s a cohesive team. Most of the players in the starting lineup will be from two clubs, so we know that that gives them cohesion.”