Tag: Christian Pulisic

Champions League last-16 draw will see Pulisic return to Dortmund for first time

The USMNT star will return to Dortmund for the first time since a record-breaking transfer in 2019

Monday’s Champions League last-16 draw produced a host of intriguing ties, but there will be one in particular that catches the eye of American fans.

Chelsea was paired up with Borussia Dortmund, which will see two of the USMNT’s top players, Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna, square off.

For Pulisic, it will be the first time he’s faced Dortmund since joining Chelsea for $70.4 million in 2019 — by far the highest transfer fee ever paid for an American. 

Let’s look at all eight ties, which will see the first legs on February 14-15 and 21-22, with the second legs on March 7-8 and 14-15.

Pulisic assists Havertz stunner as Chelsea reaches Champions League knockouts

The USMNT star was involved in both of his team’s goals in Austria

Kai Havertz scored a stunning winner for Chelsea at Red Bull Salzburg on Tuesday, pushing the Blues into the Champions League knockout round with a 2-1 win at Red Bull Arena.

The German’s strike was set up by Christian Pulisic, who was handed a start for only the third time this season and took advantage by playing a role in both of his side’s goals.

The U.S. star was involved in a stunning opener for Mateo Kovačić, as he helped win back possession inside Salzburg’s area. The ball broke to the Croatian, who quickly improvised a brilliant first-time finish with his left foot that gave the goalkeeper no chance.

Salzburg would equalize just after the break through Junior Adamu, but Chelsea would find the decisive goal in the 64th minute.

Pulisic maneuvered his way into space and drew in three defenders before finding Havertz, who unleashed a brilliant strike that flew in off the underside of the crossbar.

With the away win, Chelsea clinched a berth in the last 16. After picking up just one point in its first two Group E games, Chelsea has now won three straight to earn qualification to the knockouts with one game to spare.

Watch Havertz score winner at Salzburg

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The Americans Abroad Five: Reyna is back again, and we are ready to be hurt

With a month until the World Cup starts, the U.S. attacker once again looks fit and ready

Six weeks ago in this very column, we ran the following headline: Gio Reyna is back — now please stay healthy.

This week, the sentiment is pretty much exactly the same.

Reyna’s injuries have limited his time on the field to fits and starts over the past year, but he is again trending in the right direction after scoring his first goal in 14 months this weekend.

With a month until the World Cup starts, the U.S. attacker once again is resembling something close to his best.

Now please stay healthy.

Pulisic again makes case for bigger Chelsea role in scoreless draw at Brentford

Chelsea improved once Pulisic came on, but will Potter give him a start?

Christian Pulisic may not have started for Chelsea on Wednesday, but he still did enough to catch Graham Potter’s eye.

Pulisic came on in the 61st minute of what turned out to be a scoreless draw with Brentford. Though Chelsea ended up frustrated, Pulisic helped spark an improvement in the late going, nearly scoring an 89th minute winner only to be denied by a fine save from David Raya.

“I thought (Carney Chukwuemeka) and Christian did well when they came on,” Potter told reporters after the match. “They affected the game.”

The day before the game, Potter said Pulisic is “pushing for a start.” While he didn’t actually give the U.S. men’s national team captain that assignment, Chelsea did improve in the final half-hour with Pulisic — who also set Kai Havertz up for a shot that Raya saved — in the thick of things.

Unbeaten run making change difficult

Based on his performances, Pulisic’s hopes of cracking the starting 11 on a regular basis should be improving. However, Chelsea is unbeaten since Potter took charge, and haven’t even conceded a goal since Crystal Palace scored early in what became a 2-1 win for the Blues back on October 1.

That 533-minute shutout run is a signal that Potter’s choices are working, and his analysis of the talent at his disposal currently seems to list Pulisic as more of a super-sub than a starter. Pulisic scored in his only start under Potter and is making things happen every time he steps on the field for Chelsea, so it’s not like he’s failing to make an argument for himself. It’s just that with the results Chelsea is picking up, there are few reasons for Potter to consider shaking up his current hierarchy.

That said, Chelsea were largely uninspired against Brentford until Pulisic came in. That may move the needle enough that the USMNT star takes on a larger role in these final few weeks before the World Cup gets underway.

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Graham Potter says Christian Pulisic is ‘pushing for a start’

The USMNT star has managed to start just one game under his new manager

Chelsea head coach Graham Potter has said Christian Pulisic “needs to be ready” to start as he continues to fight for scant minutes at Stamford Bridge.

The 24-year-old fell out of favor under Thomas Tuchel and has not fared much better under Potter, with each manager handing the American just one start apiece this season.

Pulisic made the most of his start under Potter, scoring against Wolves on October 8 as Chelsea cruised to a 3-0 win. But in the two subsequent matches, Pulisic hasn’t seen the field.

The USMNT will likely rely heavily on Pulisic at the World Cup starting next month, but Potter said he couldn’t be swayed by any external factors when making his lineup decisions.

“You can imagine my focus is on Chelsea,” Potter told reporters on Tuesday. “I understand that all the players have ambition and want to play for different reasons, for their families, careers or World Cups.”

“That’s all fine but it’s my job to select the right team for whatever game. [I’m] not saying I am right all the time, I am not, but somebody has got to make the call.”

Speaking about Pulisic specifically, Potter said the American’s attitude has been good despite his lack of game time, and that he is pushing to start more games.

“With Christian I would say he has been fantastic around the place, been really good with teammates, contributed against Wolverhampton Wanderers,” Potter said. “He is pushing for a place, pushing for a start. Things change quickly in football and he needs to be ready.”

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USMNT World Cup roster to be revealed on November 9

Who will make Gregg Berhalter’s list?

We’ll know the 26-player U.S. men’s national team roster for the 2022 World Cup in less than a month.

U.S. Soccer announced Thursday that they will announce the full squad heading to Qatar on Wednesday, November 9, at Brooklyn Steel in New York City.

ESPN2 and ESPN+ will broadcast the event, with coverage beginning at 5:00pm Eastern. Gregg Berhalter and some players from the squad will be present in person.

In World Cups past, the run-up would mean a roster reveal coming out as far as a month before the tournament. However, with Qatar holding the World Cup in November and December, in the thick of the European club season, the announcement will come just 12 days before the USMNT opens its schedule against Wales on November 21. Many players will likely have one more round of club matches the following weekend before joining up with the USMNT and heading to a pre-tournament training camp in Qatar.

Expect Berhalter to stay young

USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter is expected to call up one of the youngest squads going to the World Cup. Per data from U.S. Soccer, the average age of the USMNT in their 14 qualifying matches was 23.82, making them by some distance the most youthful group to qualify for the tournament.

Berhalter will have some tough calls to make over the next few weeks. A dispiriting pair of friendlies against Japan and Saudi Arabia saw few players improve their stock, and while important players like Christian Pulisic and Ricardo Pepi have since gotten into better form with their clubs, fans are justifiably nervous with the group’s struggles in their last pair of rehearsals.

It feels as though there are few roster mysteries, provided that some key players stay healthy. Recent call-ups like Johnny Cardoso and Sam Vines appear to be on the outside looking in, while striker Brandon Vazquez has said that Berhalter told him it was too late to integrate him.

With Berhalter seemingly not particularly moved by Jordan Pefok’s excellent start with Union Berlin, the strike force question also seems close to settled. Center back should see the most heated competition, though that stems in part from injuries and poor showings in September for several candidates.

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Christian Pulisic explains why he’s ‘never been a fan’ of VAR

“I don’t think people realize how much emotions swing in games”

Christian Pulisic is not a fan of VAR.

The U.S. men’s national team and Chelsea star has spoken out against the technology in an excerpt from his upcoming book “Christian Pulisic: My Journey So Far,” which will be available for purchase on October 18.

Pulisic was interviewed shortly after the USMNT lost 2-0 at Canada in a World Cup qualifier in January. CONCACAF introduced VAR ahead of that three-game window after previously not featuring the technology in earlier World Cup qualifiers.

But Pulisic didn’t feel the introduction had much effect. The winger was repeatedly fouled during the match in Hamilton, Ontario, and felt that more should have been done to protect him and his teammates.

Questions from author Daniel Melamud are in italic.

Pulisic on VAR

VAR technology has just been introduced to the World Cup qualifying matches; are you happy about that?

Before I would have said yes for CONCACAF, because I’ve seen some things in CONCACAF that I’ve never seen elsewhere in the way things are handled.

But after this window, specifically in that Canada game, they simply refused to look at certain plays and use it when there were clear and obvious situations when they should. What’s the point if you’re not going to use it? If it’s available and there are obvious foul plays, potential red cards, and they simply don’t use it, I just don’t really understand it.

There were so many heavy challenges and what clearly looked like fouls in that game that weren’t called.

Yeah, I’ve never been a fan of VAR, to be honest, but I thought it could potentially help in these games in CONCACAF, which can be quite physical with a lot of crazy tackles and fouls. But I feel like they didn’t use it to the extent that they could.

And you haven’t been a fan of VAR because it’s disruptive?

Having VAR affects the rhythm of the game. Technology can be really helpful as far as goal-line technology, for example, or making big decisions on whether a card needs changing from a yellow to a red. But at times with VAR, it seems like so many people are unsure about what’s going on, and it can take and change so much emotion in the game.

For example, when you score a goal and then it takes five minutes to get checked, the celebrations are just off; it can be really frustrating to the players. I don’t think people realize how much emotions swing in games and momentum can change in those moments.

You can pre-order “Christian Pulisic: My Journey So Far” right here.

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The Americans Abroad Five: Getting healthy at the right time

Knock on wood but … the USMNT’s injury situation is looking quite rosy a month before Qatar

If there’s one thing the September window showed, it’s that the U.S. men’s national team desperately needs a select few players to be healthy.

Shorn of the injured Yunus Musah, Antonee Robinson and Tim Weah, the USMNT struggled badly in its two friendlies. Clearly the team’s issues went deeper than that trio’s absence, but the Americans’ awful displays would’ve at least been lifted with their presence.

This weekend saw a number of Americans abroad find the net, but no development was more important than the return to the pitch of Musah, Robinson and Weah.

The USMNT seems to be getting healthy at the right time. Knock on wood.

Let’s get to the Five.

Christian Pulisic capitalizes on Chelsea start, scores in 3-0 win over Wolves

Good news, USMNT fans!

Christian Pulisic is doing what he can to get off the bench at Chelsea.

Given just his second start of the season by new Chelsea boss Graham Potter, Pulisic capitalized, scoring the second goal as the Blues romped to a 3-0 win over Wolves.

The goal is Pulisic’s first for Chelsea in the 2022-23 season, and notably saw him stationed on the left wing in what was Potter’s second Premier League game in charge since moving over from Brighton in September.

Kai Havertz gave Chelsea the lead deep in first half stoppage time, but they still had work to do to rob Wolves of hope of taking a point at Stamford Bridge.

That’s where Pulisic made his mark. Initially facing a one-on-two, the U.S. men’s national team star worked inside to play a give-and-go with Mason Mount, whose pass on the turn appeared to catch Wolves unprepared. Pulisic was ready, though, and from an acute angle he clipped the ball over the approaching José Sá, a clinical finish to a superb sequence.

Chelsea would put the game on ice in the final minutes, with Armando Broja making it 3-0. The win keeps the team in the top four, and for Pulisic, a goal and a start is a great sign after a worrying start to the year saw his role at the club reduced to utility substitute under Thomas Tuchel.

The goal makes Pulisic just the third American to score 20 Premier League goals, joining USMNT legends Brian McBride and Clint Dempsey.

Watch Pulisic’s first Chelsea goal of 2022-23

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The Americans Abroad Five: Football hopefully decides

Could this be the start of another fightback at Chelsea for Christian Pulisic?

Ahead of Saturday’s game against Crystal Palace, Graham Potter acknowledged the relationship between Christian Pulisic and his predecessor Thomas Tuchel had at times been frosty.

“I can only comment on him in terms of how he’s been with me,” Chelsea manager Potter said of the USMNT star. “Really positive, he’s an intelligent guy, articulate, knows how to express himself.

“My conversation with him has been good and positive, I’m not going to judge anybody on what has happened in the past, I’m going to make my own mind up. Football hopefully decides.”

Pulisic has been out of favor before with Chelsea, and has always managed to fight his way back. His game-winning assist against Palace, then, could be the start of another fightback for the USMNT star. Or it could be a false dawn.

That assist did come from Pulisic’s favored left-wing position, rather than the wingback spot he’s played so often this season. If Potter at least gives Pulisic a chance at his best position, then the American star will back himself to prove his worth. Football hopefully decides.