Christian Pulisic is ready to go. Or at least, he wants to be. The AC Milan winger declared himself feeling “great” on Wednesday after a calf injury kept him out of the USMNT’s 2-0 win over Australia last Friday. Now he’s pushing for minutes in Thursday night’s group finale against Turkey, even though the game means absolutely nothing for either team.
Pulisic lasted just one half in the Americans’ World Cup opener against Paraguay two weeks ago. He played well in that first half. Really well. But a calf issue that flared up during training forced him out at the break. He’s been working individually ever since, only rejoining full team practice this week in Seattle.
“I’m hoping to play a part in the match against Turkey, for sure,” Pulisic said Wednesday after training at Great Park. “I’ll discuss that with my coaches and the medical staff. Obviously not a good chance I’ll probably go and play 90 minutes right away after you come back and miss a game. But we’ll see.”
The USMNT is already locked into first place in Group whatever-this-is. Turkey is eliminated. So coach Mauricio Pochettino has a real decision to make: rest his stars for the Round of 32 on July 1 in Santa Clara, or keep them sharp. Pulisic hopes the plan includes at least some runout time.
He admitted he pushed hard to be available for the Australia match. “I never feared anything worse,” he said. “I was pushing, and I was really close to trying to be available for the last game, for sure. I did feel a little something against Paraguay, but I definitely was able to push through in the first half. It wasn’t quite ready. But it wasn’t anything where I feared anything worse.”
With the group stage wrapped up, Pochettino is expected to rotate heavily. That might mean rest for guys like Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, and maybe even Pulisic if the medical staff plays it safe. But it could also mean a rare start for some reserves who haven’t seen the field yet. Center back Chris Richards isn’t worried about rust.
“Our trainings are pretty intense,” Richards said. “I think fitness won’t be an issue. I don’t think sharpness will be either. Obviously it’s good to keep into some sort of rhythm, but I think these guys deserve it if they get the chance. I think we’ll be fine when it comes to the next game.”
Pulisic watched the Australia win from the sideline in Seattle. He was visibly into it, celebrating with teammates as the USMNT posted back-to-back World Cup victories for the first time since 1930. The offense clicked without him, especially in that first half. And that didn’t surprise him at all.
“It’s not surprising to me,” he said. “I see what this team can do. We have depth. We have really strong players in a lot of positions. I don’t need to do everything. It’s such a strong team. These guys, everyone has each other’s backs. That’s what’s so fun about it. To see the way the team performance we’ve put in, especially the way we’ve started the games, has been fun to watch.”
Whether Pulisic plays a minute on Thursday or not, the USMNT’s bigger test comes next week. And if his calf holds up, he’ll be the guy they lean on.
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