IRVINE, Calif. – The star of the American men’s national team, Christian Pulisic, said that he expects to be present on Thursday in the final of the group stage where he will face Turkey, to return to a good condition just before the World Cup qualifiers begin.
Pulisic came off at halftime of the USMNT’s 4-1 win over Paraguay on June 12 with a temporary problem in his left calf, which started with a knock he took in the days before the game and then became angry when he received a kick in the same spot in the first half. He then missed training for a week and ended up not playing in Friday’s 2-0 win over Australia.
He resumed training with his teammates on Monday, and announced that he is ready for their final Group D match.
“I feel good,” Pulisic said on Wednesday. “I joined the team a few days ago and I hope to participate tomorrow, definitely.”
He doesn’t expect to play a full game, both because of what players usually do after injury, but also because the stakes are very different on Thursday. With the USMNT already top of the group and Turkiye already eliminated statistically, the meeting at SoFi Stadium is essentially a dead rubber match.
“I will discuss that with my coaches and the medical staff,” he said of the possible minute restrictions. “Obviously, it’s not a good chance that I’ll play 90 immediately, usually, after coming back and missing the game, but we’ll see.”
The injury was initially described as a precaution, and the USMNT did not fear the worst, as Pulisic also missed several training sessions.
“I felt really confident,” he said. “Actually, I never feared anything too bad. I was pushing, and I was very close to trying to be in the last game, for sure, but obviously I was feeling a little bit, but I managed to get through the first half with adrenaline. [to] just pass me, but it wasn’t good yet but it wasn’t something where I was afraid that something was worse than it was.”
It helped that he had modified training sessions rather than skipping training altogether.
“I never left,” Pulisic said. “I’ve been working every day, a lot. I don’t think that’s enough time to lose sharpness. I’ve been touching the ball every day or whatever. I work a lot, so get a few training sessions, I’ll feel good.”
However, his time on the field provided him with a unique opportunity for the USMNT’s victory over Australia, the vibes felt like they were at a high level as the team struggled to overcome an opponent without the most recognized player.
“It’s no surprise to me,” he said of his performance on Friday. “I see what the team can do. We have depth. We have really strong players in many positions. I don’t need to do everything. It’s a strong team, so like these guys, everybody has a challenge at the back. That’s what’s fun about it, and just seeing the team work we put in, especially the way we started the game, it was fun to watch.”
Pulisic’s minutes are likely to be one of the few criteria head coach Mauricio Pochettino will make before entering his squad on Thursday. Considering the low price, Pochettino can replace players with good health or with yellow cards in mind – Tyler Adams, Folarin Balogun, Chris Richards and Antonee Robinson singled one in the first two games and the other against Turkiye will mean they will be stopped in the American group round of 32 on July 1. The team looks like they won’t win for the third time but the third team looks like they won’t win for the third time in one game. in the World Cup.
Pochettino should have the majority of his squad available to him, although midfielder Cristian Roldan missed a third consecutive day of training with a muscle strain which is still being described as day-to-day.
“I think everyone in this team is ready to step up, so I feel like it will be a normal thing for us,” said Pulisic about the hopes of other players who will lead their first minutes in this World Cup. “We will support and push everyone in the same way, whoever gets the chance to play tomorrow, no matter what the decisions are. Everyone will be ready and it shows how deep we are and how strong a team we have.”
Pulisic’s return couldn’t have come at a better time, however, as the task of making depth on home soil is no longer a task for the future.
“Honestly, I just believed that anything was possible,” she said. “I don’t think we need a miracle to go far in the World Cup. I think we have a really good team. I think we can do it. Things have to go your way and just like [it does] everyone. I always feel that believing is better than not.”
