The pain that Christian Pulisic fought through for 59 minutes Monday night only served as the precursor to the battering he would take after this USMNT flop.
The USA star took hits from every angle after the US’ stunning 4-1 loss to Belgium in the Round of 16 in Seattle, a disappointing end to a World Cup that began with such great hopes.
Pulisic, the 27-year-old forward, barely left his mark on the game when it seemed Team USA had a legit chance to make its first quarterfinal since 2002.
“You wanted some of those big-time players to step up in big moment. I gotta be honest, I I was a bit disappointed with Christian Pulisic. I think, whether he wants to be the star of this team or not, we didn’t see enough from him in this particular game, and really the whole World Cup,” former US women’s national team star Carli Lloyd said on Fox after the game. “Little glimpses here and there.”
Pulisic is American’s most high-profile player and, fair or unfair, that comes with the burden of carrying the team in the same way other global stars are asked to do.
Unfortunately for the AC Milan star, his health didn’t cooperate.
He suffered a calf injury in the team’s first Group Stage match against Paraguay, missed the next game against Australia and then returned 13 days later as a reserve against Turkey.
Monday night, he “totally twisted” his ankle in the second half with the US trailing 2-1, and Belgium took a two-goal lead moments later.
He exited in the 59th minute, finishing his World Cup run with one assist and zero goals.
Pulisic lost possession 11 times in 45 minutes Monday, according to ESPNFC’s X account.
“This has been the World Cup of stars carrying their teams. Our alleged star got kicked in the calf, missed a game and a half, made almost zero impact outside of the first half of the first game, and then begged out in the biggest game of his career,” Fox Sports’ Nick Wright wrote on X. “So utterly disappointing.”
Added notable sports personality Colin Cowherd: “Christian Pulisic, he’s a slight player. He’s always been fragile. He gets banged up again and I didn’t think he played with any confidence today. He wasn’t winning his 1-on-1’s and he kind of gave the ball up.”
For Pulisic, this is now three straight World Cup years that have ended in disappointment and raise questions about his legacy.
Team USA failed to qualify in 2018 in his first shot with the men’s national team, and the 2022 team bowed out in the Round of 16 against The Netherlands.
Pulisic will be on the wrong side of 30 for the 2030 World Cup, and this tournament will only add more weight for him to carry as the United States still awaits its breakthrough.
“It’s an uncomfortable conversation because for the longest time it was, ‘Pulisic’s gonna do it. Pulisic’s gonna do it. He’s our guy, he’s Captain America.’ And now you’re looking at Christian Pulisic where his World Cup career is just about done,” Fox Sports Radio’s Jason Smith said.
“When you say, OK, his legacy, Christian Pulisic, the golden era, it’s not what we thought it would be or not what we needed it to be. The hype for him and what we thought he could do … he’s just been OK and he’s been injured. The whole Christian Pulisic era is underachieving. It’s a bit of a downer, and more of what he didn’t accomplish than what we have at this point.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
