The United States should sit Christian Pulisic vs Australia

· Yahoo Sports

The U.S. men’s national team only needed 45 minutes to convince the entire United States that they can make a deep run in the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup.

The USMNT held a 3-0 halftime lead over Paraguay in their opener last week, and while Folarin Balogun scored the brace, Christian Pulisic was everywhere. It was disconcerting, then, when the dynamic attacker spent the entire second half on the bench. The USMNT’s 4-1 win had a tiny asterisk, as we awaited to hear an update on Pulisic.

Visit sport-newz.biz for more information.

Directly after the match, USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino assured that Pulisic’s substitution was “a precaution” after Pulisic “started to feel tight” from a kick in the calf.

“I just got a bit of a kick in the first half, so I’m really hoping that it’s nothing,” Pulisic said, per FOX Sports’ Doug McIntyre. “Taking a little bit of precaution today, but I’m hoping I’ll be fine the next few days.”

In the days since, Pulisic has done individual work away from the team at training and, as of Thursday, he has not participated fully in training all week.

Christian Pulisic of United States in action during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group D match between USA and Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, 2026 in Inglewood, United States. (Photo by Sebastian Frej/Getty Images)

“He was training individually the whole week,” Pochettino said Thursday evening. “Tonight, we have a meeting with our medical staff. We will assess the whole group, the players, and tomorrow, we will communicate [if he’s going to play]. He’s evolving. He’s much better from Friday. We will see.”

Let’s make this easy: the USMNT should sit Pulisic for their matchup with Australia at Lumen Field in Seattle on Friday afternoon.

The most obvious explanation is that the USMNT need Pulisic to advance beyond the Round of 16 for the first time since 2002 — and maybe even squeak into the quarterfinal or semifinal. This is as deep and talented an American attack as we’ve ever had, but Pulisic is the X-factor.

The fact the USMNT have Australia on deck seals it for me. There is no reason to put Pulisic — a player with an extensive injury history — at risk of further injury against an extremely physical Socceroos side. It was only eight months ago that Pulisic exited an international friendly against Australia due to injury.

Because this is such a deep roster, a Pulisic-less USMNT have every shot to not just survive against Australia but win and qualify for the knockout stage. Let’s see them solidify themselves as the most dangerous USMNT of our lifetimes.

Related Articles

Start your unlimited Newsweek trial

Read full story at source