OOn May 28, 2016, Christian Pulisic became the youngest player to score for the US men’s national team. He found the net in a 4-0 win over Bolivia in the build-up to the Copa América Centenario. But what happened the night before was, in a quieter way, no less remarkable.
Jürgen Klinsmann, the U.S. head coach at the time, allowed Pulisic to attend his high school prom in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the night before the game, and the 17-year-old rented a private plane so he could get back to Kansas City on time. for the game.
That was the abnormal normal of his teenage years: the tension between the shy child, A Justin Bieber fan who wanted to hang out with friends at a chocolate company called The sweetest place on earth, and the reality of his working life as a rising international star who traveled by corporate jet before he was old enough to drive alone in Germany, where he lived. A universal rite of passage at his high school and a unique achievement for his country, in the space of 24 hours.
A few weeks earlier, the forward had scored his first Bundesliga goal for Borussia Dortmund and the Copa would be his first major tournament. In 2017, US Soccer published a website story titled All the Things Christian Pulisic Did Faster Than Anyone Else – and it wasn’t a quick read. So fast, but not enough: His $73 million move to Chelsea in 2019 turned sour despite the club’s Champions League triumph in 2021. After the US failed to reach the 2018 World Cup, Pulisic remained in tears behind.
No wonder there were moments when he seemed a little uneasy, like a young man looking for something to hold on to in a maelstrom. The pressure to be the shiniest jewel of America’s golden generation even landed him on a therapist’s couch — at least in one car commercial themed around his growing pains.
Now flourishing at Milan and coming off a career-best club season, Pulisic looks confident in a leadership role for his country, which involves wearing the armband and seizing the moment, as he did in Sunday’s another match against Bolivia. If there is still a burden on his shoulders, he will not let it slow him down. Maturity has not made him cautious or conservative; he still attacks with the dashing daring he showed as a calm youth.
In the third minute of the Copa América 2024 Group C opener at the home of the Dallas Cowboys, Pulisic collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area and fired a high diagonal shot past the goalkeeper, Guillermo Viscarra, who was also between the posts. that impactful game in 2016.
It was all the US would ever need against the weakest South American team at this tournament, and that means the Faster Than Everyone list requires an addendum. Pulisic is the fastest USMNT player to reach 30 goals, he did so on his 69th cap, achieving the milestone 14 games faster than Eric Wynalda and 18 games ahead of Landon Donovan. His potential made him famous; his production only increases his celebrity. In Hollywood they would say he has sizzle: a star quality that sets him apart.
“It was an excellent performance,” U.S. head coach Gregg Berhalter said after the game. “He’s a selfless leader, he goes out there and competes and works really hard. That helps the team and you, and adds to the fact that he’s very skilled and can play in attack. It’s a great combination. “
Pulisic was named man of the match, although he is keen to emphasize the collective effort as part of his leadership strategy. After scoring through a choreographed move with Timothy Weah, Pulisic made a theatrical gesture to the crowd to credit Gianni Vio, the set-piece coach. Pulisic drew a foul with a bullish run to the edge of the penalty area and had also scored from a direct free kick in the previous match, a 1-1 friendly against Brazil.
In that match and on Sunday, he seemed to have taken the field with an agenda in mind: to set an aggressive, fearless tone from the first whistle.
For all the talk in American football about a “versatile evaluation mechanism” using “advanced data analysis, advanced statistics and sophisticated recruitment methods to profile and rank each candidate” in last year’s search for a head coach, it is hard to believe that Berhalter would have been reappointed after the World Cup if Pulisic had not been public supported him. He is the most influential player, the face of the team and, despite being only 25 years old, the most featured player in this Copa squad.
The early lead released all American tension. Folarin Balogun, clear on the left after being set up by Pulisic, fired the second goal low into the far corner shortly before half-time – a confident finish and a confidence boost for the striker, who has not played for the US since last had scored. October. Tyler Adams, recently returned from injury, made his first start since March and played 45 minutes. The talkative midfielder captained the US in Qatar. His frequent absences have made Pulisic a more assertive presence in place of Adams.
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Substitute Ricardo Pepi was wasteful in the second half, and some of the American passing was sloppy. La Paz is more than twice as high as Denver, but despite that home advantage, Bolivia is ranked 84th in the world according to FIFA, making it by far the weakest of Conmebol’s ten countries. They have not won a competitive match since the 2015 Copa América in Chile.
A two-goal margin was perhaps the minimum to be expected. Still, Berhalter was satisfied. “There was never any doubt about the match and I think it’s a good starting point to build on in this tournament,” the coach said. He praised the standard of the temporary pitch, which will be a relief for organizers after criticism of the surface in Atlanta, the other venue for the 2026 World Cup semi-final.
Next up is a familiar and manageable Concacaf foe in Panama on Thursday, then a quality jump to tournament favorites Uruguay on July 1. Uruguay defeated Panama 3-1 on Sunday. Brazil or Colombia, who defeated the frigid US 5-1 in a warm-up earlier this month, are likely to wait for the Americans if they reach the quarter-finals.
Whether failing to beat teams of the caliber of Colombia or Brazil would be a punishable offense for Berhalter is a matter of conjecture that could prove to be the central story that will emerge in the coming weeks, especially as there is little controversy surrounding his selection for what is a largely fixed lineup.
Although this is now a team dominated by European players, in some ways a debate still rages over the identity of the program from the dog days of the MLS-dependent Klinsmann era. How can you combine the American traits of yesteryear – sloppy, hungry, sometimes outclassed but never defeated – with a progressive ambition to play and win with style and refinement? And can the US combine these qualities under Berhalter with stronger competition such as Uruguay, Brazil or Colombia?
“As talented as we are, we are only as good as we are intense,” says goalkeeper Matt Turner told reporters before the match against Bolivia. In Pulisic, the Americans have a combative and brilliant figurehead who will certainly be essential if Berhalter’s side are to thrive in tougher matches. Eight years after his Copa debut, when he was a wide-eyed neophyte among veterans, can he lift his teammates to his level?