Christian Pulisic is a figure in U.S. soccer who inspires a unique type of fandom.
Throughout each World Cup appearance he made on home soil this summer, there was an extra crackle of electricity in the crowd when the No. 10 got on the ball. Amid the sea of red and white stripes filtering into stadiums across the west coast, the only club shirt to appear with any sort of frequency was Pulisic’s AC Milan jersey.
In the parking lot outside Levi’s Stadium before the USMNT’s round of 32 clash with Bosnia and Herzegovina, vendors could scarcely keep up with the demand for tattoo arm sleeves matching Pulisic’s ink. That they were promptly confiscated by stadium security 20 feet away didn’t seem to deter anyone.
One fan, John, smuggled his commemorative contraband into the ground and breathlessly told me of his pilgrimage across the Atlantic to Milan back in October to see Pulisic’s tattoos and technique in the flesh. Naturally, he was injured and so didn’t play.
Much to the chagrin of John and his compatriots, Pulisic appeared to be playing while impaired for the vast majority of an ultimately underwhelming World Cup. The face of the tournament for the co-host, a player whose name was at least three times larger the font used for “United States” in Fox’s domestic broadcast of the tournament, showed his true potential for no more than 45 minutes.
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The Pulisic that dominated the first half of the USMNT’s opener against Paraguay was the closest he has ever come to living up to the ridiculous expectations placed upon him. The sparky winger drove straight towards goal at every possible opening, forcing Damián Bobadilla’s own goal to break the deadlock before teeing up Folarin Balogun to double the lead half an hour in.
Pulisic tormented poor Juan Cáceres so much, you half expected the Paraguayan right back to still be veering around the SoFi Stadium pitch at halftime, like the last suitcase on an airport baggage carousel. In fact, it was the U.S. forward who was derailed during the interval, sustaining a calf injury which limited the remainder of his group-stage involvement to a second-half cameo in the dead rubber against Türkiye.
Bosnia and Herzegovina was not troubled by Pulisic in the first knockout phase and Belgium’s right back Timothy Castagne could very easily have coasted through the round of 16 encounter without even realizing he was playing.
In an unforgiving, if fitting, conclusion to his tournament, Pulisic was forced off with an ankle injury inside an hour in Seattle. Whether it was physical pain or the emotional reaction to what had transpired this summer, the U.S. star ended the night in tears.
‘Not Good Enough’—Pulisic Sends Emotional Message After World Cup Exit
Pulisic cut an emotional figure in the mixed zone at Lumen Field after the USMNT’s elimination was brutally confirmed by Belgium on Monday, struggling to summon any words after a dream summer ended in nightmarish circumstances.
Following two further days to mull over the chastening exit, and his role in the demise, Pulisic took to Instagram on Wednesday. “Tough to find the words,” he wrote.
“I want to start by saying thank you to everyone who believed. The support carried us all the way through. It simply wasn’t good enough from us in the end and I wanted to deliver so much more. I still feel blessed to be a part of this team. The memories this summer will last a lifetime.
“It’s just the start for us and for this sport in America.”
Still only 27, Pulisic will likely remain a key part of the U.S. roster for the 2030 World Cup, in the event of qualification. The Milan forward admitted that he was already looking forward to being “back with the national team” after the Belgium defeat. Should he be inclined to listen to the advice of some of his compatriots, Pulisic could turn this disappointment into something positive.
‘People Are Fed Up’—Pulisic Sent Advice by USMNT Legend
Landon Donovan is painfully familiar with the weight of expectation brought by being the most famous American talent at a disappointing World Cup. “I have been in his shoes,” the retired striker reflected on his podcast Unfiltered Soccer, thinking back to the first round exit in 2006. “I know the feeling. The feeling is identical.”
Donovan’s advice had nothing to do with Pulisic’s actual play, instead, the 44-year-old urged his countryman to assess his behavior and relationships off the pitch.
“People are fed up with the way things are handled around him,” Donovan claimed, citing testimony provided by U.S. Soccer staff, Pulisic’s sponsors and his teammates.
“It’s not necessarily him, but it’s his agents, his family, his hangers-on, the people who are influencing,” Donovan claimed. “People are fed up with it. They treat people poorly. They do things poorly. It’s always a ‘no’ whenever you wanna ask, ‘Can we do an interview?’ It’s always a, ‘No, you can’t get near him.’
“He doesn’t say, ‘Hi,’ to the commentators who do all the games all the time when they walk by. All the other guys come over and shake hands and say, ‘Hello.’
“There’s just this sense about him that you can’t get near him. And I actually don’t think it’s from him. I think it’s from I think it’s from the people around him. They need to stop, and he needs to man up and have a conversation with them and say, ‘Look guys, this is not helping me.’”
Donovan harked back to his own introspection, which eventually steered him towards therapy. “It led me to take a look at my life and my career honestly for the first time,” he revealed. “It allowed me to have massive, important conversations with people I love in my life about all things, not just soccer, and it changed my life forever, in a positive way.”
After such a disappointing end to his summer, Pulisic is certainly in need of a positivespark.
