Christian Pulisic, the U.S. soccer star who has been the subject of much hype and expectation, finds himself in a familiar position: at the center of a storm of criticism and scrutiny. After the U.S. team's early exit from the 2026 World Cup, Pulisic has been under the microscope, with many questioning his ability to live up to the marketing hype and his own potential. In this article, I will delve into the factors that have contributed to Pulisic's current situation, explore the broader implications for American soccer, and offer some insights into his future prospects.
The Hype Machine
Pulisic has been a poster boy for American soccer since his teenage years, with his talent and potential being touted by the media and fans alike. His endorsements deal must be the envy of some of his critics among ex-USMNT players, but the cost to Pulisic comes in expectation management. How do you live up to this hype? Unless your career gets a second wind and goes to another level, at 27, you can’t.
The marketing has given a false impression. Pulisic has benefited from it, of that there can be no doubt. Since his teenage years, he has been seized upon in the much the same way Freddy Adu once was as the American face of the global game. Except Pulisic actually had the bona fides. He has played for Dortmund, Chelsea and Milan. He was part of a Champions League-winning team. Doing that downstream of the 1994 World Cup, MLS’s inauguration and David Beckham’s efforts to make the U.S. embrace soccer laid the foundation not only for a player like Pulisic to emerge, but to monetise like no other player in American soccer history.
The Reality Check
In the end, the 16th-ranked team in the world left the competition in the round of 16. The team as a whole looked overawed by the occasion. The controversy surrounding the suspension of Folarin Balogun’s red card clearly affected preparation. Belgium’s unexpected line-up without Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku also seemed to confuse the players and, at the end of the day, the U.S. lost 4-1 to a team that beat them 5-2 in March.
Who do you scapegoat? President Donald Trump? US Soccer? Matt Freese? Minds were made up by a post-match interview rather than an actual performance. When Pulisic talked through his injury-enforced substitution with FOX’s Jenny Taft, he said: “I mean, I just twisted my ankle and sprained my ankle. It’s just frustrating to end like that, of course. And now I get time to rest, so it’ll be OK.”
The line did more damage than the contact with Youri Tielemans that caused him to go off at a time when his team was in need of the kind of World Cup comeback other players have been able to inspire in this tournament. “You would have had to drag me off the field,” Donovan said. His FOX colleague, the two-time World Cup winner Carli Lloyd, posted on X: “You rest when your playing career is over. Period.”
It was over the top. But an impression has formed: Part-Time Pulisic. Pick’em Pulisic. He plays when he wants. Neymar had a similar reputation at PSG. But is it fair? Pulisic was on crutches in the team hotel the day after the USMNT’s elimination. As first reported by The Athletic, he suffered a microfracture in his right leg and did so attempting a shot to get his team back into the game. The injury would have ruled him out of the rest of the World Cup if the US had progressed and met Spain in Los Angeles.
The Future of Pulisic
It raises the question: what does Pulisic’s career look like after the World Cup in the US? He in effect has two years left on his contract with Milan, as the club retains the option, at the end of this coming season, to roll it over for another year. Should he stay? Milan have been through four coaches in Pulisic’s time at the club. They have failed to qualify for the Champions League in back-to-back years. During his time at Dortmund or Chelsea, he never missed out on the competition. The inability to replace Olivier Giroud when he departed for LAFC at the end of Pulisic’s first season has been a problem.
Divock Origi disappeared and retired soon after leaving Milan. Vast amounts of money — around €85m (or $97m) — have been wasted on Santi Gimenez, Alvaro Morata and Christopher Nkunku. Last season, it led Allegri to play Pulisic and Rafa Leao as a pair of counter-attacking strikers. They were out of position and often a long, long way from goal. It was only enjoyable when they were winning.
At the end of the season, Leao announced his intention to leave. “I’d like to try a new challenge in a new league,” he told SportTV. Pulisic has kept his counsel, although The Athletic understands, through people familiar with the situation, that he will wait and see before renewing his contract. Since he joined Milan, only Inter’s strike partnership of Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram have combined, individually, for more goals and assists (52 in 100 appearances) than the American. He is not the club’s highest earner. Leao and Nkunku make more without the same output. Nkunku, in particular, had a very disappointing first season at San Siro.
If there are reservations about Milan’s project, Cardinale has creditably sought to resolve them this summer. Earlier this week, in his first press conference since acquiring the club in 2022, he admitted: “I’ve been hands-off in my ownership, so the wake-up call for everybody is: those days are over.”
He personally led the restructuring process, making Milan his No 1 priority, flying to Germany, Austria, Portugal and the UK to meet candidates for various roles. Allegri’s replacement, Ruben Amorim, is his man, his choice. “We’re not going to play, not to lose,” Cardinale said. “We’re going to play to win, which means we’re going to look at a football style that meets that objective, and that is a high press, high possession, attacking style of football. It’ll be exciting football. It’ll be fun to watch, and it’ll be high-scoring.”
This should be music to Pulisic’s ears. Cardinale and Amorim want him to be a part of Milan’s future. They believe the project should have renewed appeal to him. “He is perfect for the way I think about football,” Amorim said. “Especially here in Italy, where sometimes the teams defend so well there is less space between the lines, he is a player who can make the difference in that kind of space.”
Pulisic won’t be expected to play striker any more either. The Athletic broke the story that Milan agreed a club-record fee with PSG for Goncalo Ramos and understands Amorim was in touch with Pulisic, as he was with all his new players, during the World Cup.
If Pulisic hesitates before committing to a new deal, he will have to back himself and deliver. In the grand scheme of things, the name most people will remember from the USMNT’s World Cup will, for better and worse, be Balogun, not Pulisic. Twenty-eight in September, Pulisic’s next contract will perhaps be the last of his prime. As productive as he has been for Milan, it is worth remembering he was 12th in minutes across all competitions last season. As such, Pulisic needs, once again, to prove people wrong and show what he’s worth if he is to attract a contract offer in line with his own expectations or, alternatively, generate interest from clubs competing in the Champions League. The ambition to play in that competition again makes leaving for MLS unlikely in the short term. A soft approach from New York City FC, raised at ownership level, never led anywhere, as Cardinale’s desire is to keep the player.
The rest is up to Pulisic.
