AMSTERDAM — United States defender Sergiño Dest made his comeback from a hamstring injury by coming off the bench during PSV Eindhoven‘s 2-2 draw against Ajax in the Dutch league on Saturday.
Dest entered the match in the second half, around the hour mark, with the score tied at 1-1. This marked his first appearance since injuring his left hamstring on March 7 while playing against AZ Alkmaar.
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He missed two recent pre-World Cup friendlies and watched from the sidelines as PSV secured the Dutch league title with five matches left to play. However, his return could enhance his chances of being selected for the tournament in North America in June and July.
PSV quickly went ahead on Saturday thanks to a goal from Dest’s U.S. teammate Ricardo Pepi, who found the net just 34 seconds into the game. This marked Pepi’s 14th league goal of the season and his fourth in three matches. The 23-year-old has scored a total of 17 goals in all competitions for PSV so far.
Ajax equalized shortly after, with a goal from Anton Gaaei, only for PSV to regain the lead through substitute Myron Boadu in the 77th minute. However, Mika Godts leveled the score for Ajax in stoppage time, preventing PSV from securing all three points.
Dest has two goals in 37 international caps and started all four matches for the U.S. during the 2022 World Cup.
The U.S. will kick off Group D against Paraguay on June 12 in Inglewood, California, followed by a match against Australia six days later in Seattle. The Americans will conclude the group stage on June 25 at SoFi Stadium against Türkiye.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.