San Francisco: As the captain and face of the US men’s national team, Christian Pulisic’s image is everywhere at this World Cup. From the cover of Time magazine under the headline “Captain America” to advertisements for sportswear company Puma to the boxes of Ritz crackers.
As you’d expect, with the US co-hosting, there is a real weight of expectation on the man Americans have affectionately dubbed the LeBron James of soccer to take his team deep into the tournament. This week, his left calf has become the most talked-about muscle in North America.
Pulisic, regarded as America’s greatest-ever player and the nation’s best hope of producing a global soccer superstar, showed he could be living up to that hype in the first 45 minutes of the US’s opening World Cup game.
The 27-year-old menaced Paraguay, and was involved in two US goals as the co-hosts raced to a 3-0 lead at halftime at a packed Los Angeles stadium. But when America returned to the field, Pulisic was not there. Was coach Mauricio Pochettino managing his captain’s game time ahead of hopes for a long tournament, or was it something more worrying?
“Taking a little bit of precaution today, but I’m hoping I’ll be fine the next few days,” Pulisic said before revealing he’d taken a knock to his left calf.
Now, on the eve of the highly anticipated Group D clash with the Socceroos, no one outside the US team camp has any idea if Captain America will make it to the pitch at Lumen Field in Seattle to take on the Socceroos.
It is an unusual situation for US sports fans. Other professional US sports, including the NFL, MLB and the NBA, have strict protocols requiring teams to be transparent about a player’s fitness in the interests of fairness and for sports betting markets. But that doesn’t happen in soccer.
Instead, his teammates have spent the week fielding questions from the media about Pulisic’s calf.
Initially they sounded optimistic, midfielder Tyler Adams telling everyone to “relax” , that “Christian will be ready” to play against Australia. But as the week progressed, his teammates sounded less sure as Pulisic continued to train away from the rest of the squad. Teammate Brenden Aaronson on Thursday said, “Hopefully, Christian is going to be ready for the game”.
“He’s a big player to us,” he said.
There has possibly been no bigger player for the US at a more important time, although it is not a role that has always sat comfortably for Pulisic. His father, Mark, has previously spoken about the pressure on his son and the expectation that comes with being the face and saviour of American soccer. Mark Pulisic has advised his son to live near golf courses to help him manage the isolation and mental toll of being a professional athlete.
He’s played 86 times for his country, scoring 33 goals and providing 20 assists, but there have been controversies too. In 2022, he put some Americans offside by criticising how fans had turned out to watch the side play a warm-up match against Morocco ahead of the World Cup in Qatar. In November 2024, he attracted media scrutiny when he celebrated scoring against Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals by imitating Donald Trump’s signature double-fist-pump dance. He denied the act was political and “just for fun”.
And in 2025, he was attacked by fans and US team members when he opted with US soccer staff to skip the CONCACAF Gold Cup to rest ahead of the World Cup. Former captain Landon Donovan lambasted the decision saying, “I can’t help but think about our guys on vacation not wanting to play in the Gold Cup. It’s pissing me off.”
Adams, who first met Pulisic at youth national team camps has previously said : “I can’t even imagine the weight that’s on his shoulders, in terms of, from such a young age, he was the hope of American soccer … He’s a star, not just for the US team but in world football.”
Pulisic was earmarked from an early age as capable of becoming America’s biggest export. A highly regarded youth player in his hometown of Hershey, Pennsylvania, the expectations grew when he moved to Borussia Dortmund’s youth academy at 15. Two years later, he was in the first team under now England coach Thomas Tuchel, and quickly established himself as a vital player for the club.
He made a big money transfer to English giant Chelsea, who paid about $100 million to bring him to London, and went on to become the first American to play in – and win – a UEFA Champions League final, when they defeated Manchester City in Portugal in 2021.
Despite moments of brilliance, inconsistency and injuries saw him leave the Premier League and make a fresh start at AC Milan in July 2023. The move to the iconic Serie A club revitalised his career, but then, as the World Cup loomed, his club form dipped and the goals dried up. The New York Times carried an article in April with the headline: “Will Christian Pulisic’s crisis of confidence at Milan carry over to USMNT’s World Cup?”
History would suggest otherwise. Pulisic has regularly performed for the US when they need him. He went to the World Cup in Qatar having scored once for Chelsea in 17 games and left the 2022 tournament as the US’s best attacking player, netting the goal that took America into the knockout stages and providing two assists in four games.
His teammate Weston McKennie has joked Pulisic has just been saving the goals for the World Cup, and his 45-minute performance against Paraguay suggests he is handling the extra expectations. The next question is whether he will be fit enough to continue his return to form against Australia in Seattle. We won’t know the answer to that until an hour before kick-off.
Nick Ralston is the deputy editor and investigations editor for The Sydney Morning Herald. He has previously spent time as news editor, justice editor and world editor.Connect via X or email.
