DOHA, Qatar — Christian Pulisic has always appreciated the value of a good goal celebration. It’s a unique moment in soccer, a display of individual expression and euphoria—part choreography, part spontaneity—which occurs during that split second between the ball crossing the line and the crush of elated teammates.
Pulisic has a repertoire. He’s done the Griddy and the Worm, the latter honoring a cancer patient who requested it in March. Sometimes he’ll lift his left arm in front of his face to show off his tiger tattoo—it’s the Eye of the Tiger. Then there was the iconic “Man in the Mirror” undershirt, which Pulisic unveiled a year ago after scoring in an emphatic World Cup qualifying win over Mexico. The U.S. didn’t see El Tri when it looked in the mirror. It was now the other way around.
It’s tempting to wonder whether celebrations are just about glorifying the self, but that’s not what seems to drive Pulisic. If anything, spotlights and scrutiny leave him anxious. He is, by most accounts, reserved and generous. In a June friendly against Morocco, for example, Pulisic earned a second-half penalty kick but offered the shot to Haji Wright, a friend making his senior U.S. debut.
