The U.S. men’s national team got the kind of update everyone wanted Monday morning. Christian Pulisic, the team’s most dangerous attacking player, returned to full training for the first time since pulling up with a calf injury in the World Cup opener against Paraguay.
That injury looked like it could be a problem. Pulisic missed the second group game against Australia on Friday, and the USMNT still won 2-0 without breaking much of a sweat. But everyone around the team knows that winning without him against a limited opponent is one thing. Trying to navigate a knockout round without their best player is entirely different.
According to ESPN, Pulisic’s full participation in Monday’s session sets him up well for Thursday’s group stage finale against Turkey. The timing matters. Turkey is already eliminated from the tournament after losing its first two matches, so the stakes for that game are basically zero for the USMNT. They’ve locked up first place in Group D regardless of the result against Turkey.
That raises an obvious question: How much will Pulisic actually play Thursday? The team has not said yet. It wouldn’t be surprising if he gets some minutes just to knock the rust off and test the calf under game conditions. But expecting him to go 90 minutes feels unrealistic. A cautious 30 to 45 minutes feels more likely, maybe less if the game gets out of hand early.
The USMNT’s knockout stage run starts July 1. That gives Pulisic close to two weeks to get fully right. Potential opponents for the Round of 16 include Ecuador, Sweden, or Bosnia and Herzegovina. None of those teams are pushovers, but none of them are Brazil or France either. With Pulisic back in the mix and healthy, the USMNT has to feel like it can hang with anyone on the other side of the bracket.
One other injury note: Midfielder Christian Roldan is still dealing with a muscle strain and remains day-to-day. His status for Thursday is unclear, but his absence hasn’t been as glaring as Pulisic’s might have been.
For now, the big takeaway is simple. The calf issue looked like it might linger and complicate things. Instead, Pulisic seems to be tracking well ahead of schedule. If he’s sharp by July 1, the USMNT might just have a real run in them.
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