Tag: Christian Pulisic

The Americans Abroad Five: Reconsidering Ream

Could the Fulham veteran make a late charge toward a World Cup roster spot?

We have been known to lead with the attackers in this here column but this week, it’s time to talk about a defender first.

Tim Ream, at age 34, is commanding a Premier League defense and looking every bit like a player who deserves a spot at the World Cup. But with no USMNT call-ups in almost a year, is it too late for Ream?

We’ll get to the strikers this week too, as a red-hot trio continued their strong play in Europe.

There are also major transfer questions that will be resolved this week, with two of the USMNT’s most vital players potentially set to find new homes.

Let’s get to the Five.

Report: Oh god no, please no. Anything but this.

Christian, we beg of you: Anywhere but Manchester United

Do we have to talk about this? Really, do we have to?

FINE.

Christian Pulisic is being linked with a move to…

*takes a drag off cigarette, lets out long, deep, forlorn sigh*

Manchester United.

The Athletic, ESPN, and Sky Sports are all reporting it so it must have a small sliver of truth, although Manchester United has been linked with every functioning player with two legs and a pulse these days. So yeah, grain of salt.

But why, Christian? Why would you ever want this? Why would you even, as The Athletic says, prefer a move to Manchester United?

In a way, it makes sense. Pulisic hasn’t been an every-game starter at Chelsea for a while now. The World Cup is just three months away, and he wants to be in absolute tip-top form heading to Qatar.

But not Manchester United. No no no no.

United is a complete laughingstock, as you may have heard. The club’s current transfer strategy can best be described as “five-year-old unleashed in a candy store.”

Is there a plan at Old Trafford? No there is not.

There is no way to know if Pulisic would be in United’s long-term plans, because United does not have any long-term plans.

United’s transfers are currently being overseen by a man who has flown to Barcelona and Turin this summer to wrap up deals for two players, and has wrapped up zero deals.

Ralf Rangnick was brought on to temporarily coach the team last season before becoming a consultant for two years. After saying the club needed “open-heart surgery,” he decided after a few months that procedure was best left to someone else.

Would Pulisic play at Manchester United? Perhaps. He may be a fit for Erik ten Hag’s system but like at Chelsea, there are plenty of other options at winger.

But let’s say Pulisic earns Ten Hag’s trust. How long will Ten Hag last anyway? Two games into his tenure, there is already behind-the-scenes sniping.

Oh yeah, the locker room is absolute poison.

So let’s see: Pulisic could stay at a club where he’s still a valuable player, move somewhere stable, or join the club equivalent of the Fyre Festival.

Please, Christian. Just do what Elon Musk did and tell us this whole Man Utd link was really just a joke.

If you need any more advice, we’d recommend you simply call Jadon Sancho at your earliest convenience.

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The Americans Abroad Five: Tillman already a Rangers folk hero, Dest on his way out

A star has been born in Scotland, while some other USMNT players were less fortunate last week

Welcome back to the Americans Abroad Five!

This week we lead on the rise of Malik Tillman in Scotland. The USMNT forward would have hoped to settle well after his loan from Bayern Munich but without much senior action on his resume, there were plenty of question marks. But Tillman has passed his early tests with flying colors.

Elsewhere there were some unfortunate injuries to Americans in Europe, with the hard-luck duo of Richy Ledezma and Daryl Dike the headliners.

Let’s get to the Five.

Ben Chilwell has no idea who Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey is

Christian Pulisic was in disbelief hearing his teammate’s lack of American soccer knowledge

This one may be tough for American soccer fans to swallow.

Chelsea left back Ben Chilwell has said he is unfamiliar with not one, but both of the men widely considered the two greatest U.S. men’s players of all time.

In a segment for Complex alongside USMNT star and Chelsea teammate Christian Pulisic, Chilwell revealed he does not know who either Landon Donovan or Clint Dempsey is.

The nerve!

In the segment called “GOAT Talk” Pulisic was asked what his favorite World Cup moment of all time was and answered, as many USMNT fans do, that it was Landon Donovan’s dramatic late winner against Algeria in the 2010 World Cup.

“I don’t know who Landon Donovan is,” Chilwell said.

“You don’t know who Landon Donovan is?” Pulisic replied in disbelief.

“Is that bad? Is he like a big player” Chilwell asked.

“He’s probably the best ever American!” Pulisic said.

It would get worse though! Pulisic was asked his opinion on the greatest American player ever, and after explaining that there was a debate among fans between Donovan and Dempsey, he answered that he would pick Dempsey due to his history playing alongside the ex-Fulham and Tottenham forward with the USMNT.

“I couldn’t tell you who that is,” Chilwell said of a player who spent seven seasons in the Premier League.

Thankfully, Chilwell is able to name at least one American player.

Asked who his American GOAT was, Chilwell had an easy answer.

“I don’t know a lot of American footballers,” Chilwell said, stating the obvious, “but I know one who plays for Chelsea. His name’s Christian. He’s a pretty good footballer.”

Watch Chilwell and Pulisic’s segment on Complex

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Christian Pulisic: USMNT has the intention of winning the World Cup

“If you don’t believe that it can happen, it won’t happen”

Christian Pulisic has said the U.S. national team is going to Qatar with the mentality that it can win the World Cup.

After failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the USMNT reached the 2022 tournament where it has been drawn in Group B with England, Wales and Iran.

There will be an expectation that the U.S. can advance from its group but beyond that, a deep tournament run would be almost unprecedented in American men’s soccer history.

But Pulisic has insisted that it’s counterproductive for his side to go into the tournament targeting anything less than a title.

“I think we’re going there with the intention to go win the World Cup,” Pulisic told ESPN’s Futbol Americas. “There is no reason why any team should go there without that confidence and that’s exactly how we’re going to go into this big event.

“We’re going to go in as a confident and a hungry side that is not going to back down from anyone and we feel that we can really make moves in this World Cup.”

“If you don’t believe that it can happen, it won’t happen,” the 23-year-old added. “We’ve seen crazier things happen for sure and I truly believe that we have a strong team, a strong group of guys that can accomplish anything. So that’s just the way that I think and the way that I’m going to believe going into this World Cup.”

The USMNT’s best World Cup finish came in the inaugural tournament in 1930, when it reached the semifinal. That tournament, though, featured a weakened field of just 13 teams. In the modern era, the USMNT’s run to the quarterfinals in 2002 represents its best World Cup finish.

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Frank Lampard is backing ‘special’ Christian Pulisic to thrive at Chelsea

“Those basics of the speed and balance is not [something] everyday players have. He’s special like that” 

Christian Pulisic faces plenty of competition for playing time at Chelsea, which was underscored this week when Raheem Sterling joined the club from Manchester City.

As transfer rumors around the USMNT star continue to swirl, is there still room for Pulisic at Chelsea?

His former manager Frank Lampard thinks so. 

“I think Christian can still be a big player for Chelsea, of course, a really big player, but that’s absolutely a question for the club and him,” Lampard told Pro Soccer Wire.

The United States men’s national team star signed with the London club for an American record $73 million in 2019. While Pulisic became a vital Chelsea player in Lampard’s second year at the helm, he has occasionally struggled with injuries and has been a sporadic starter under Thomas Tuchel.

“Christian needs to play games,” Lampard said. “I know what he’s like, he wants to play all the time. He’s had some injuries, I think it’s sometimes held him back at different times in his career. So I just hope we get the right solution. I have a lot of respect for Chelsea. It’s a huge club in my life and career. So I hope we get the best solution for both.”

During the 2019-20 season under Lampard, Pulisic started 19 of 25 games he played and scored 11 goals in all competitions, which is still the best scoring return he’s had with Chelsea.

Lampard, who currently manages Everton, believes the 23-year-old can match and even surpass that return in coming seasons because of his rare talents.

“I’ve got a lot of time for Christian,” Lampard said. “I think I worked well with him and just tried to develop him and had a really good relationship with him. He’s got incredible talent. He’s a great boy. I found him really pleasurable to work with as well as a talent.

“He’s really fast and [has a quick] change in direction and it’s balanced. He’s still a young player. It feels like he’s been around a long time because he broke through so young. So there’s still a lot to come from Christian, but those basics of the speed and balance is not [something] everyday players have. He’s special like that.” 

Pulisic and Lampard are both in the United States for preseason tours. Pulisic and Chelsea play Club America Saturday in Las Vegas. Lampard, who helped Everton stay in the Premier League last season, begins preparation for his first full season in charge with a friendly against domestic rivals Arsenal on Saturday in Baltimore. 

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Christian Pulisic shouts out Miami as a 2026 World Cup host city

Bienvenido a Miami, Christian Pulisic

When it comes to the World Cup 2026 host city Christian Pulisic is most excited about, there’s only one word you need to know: Dalé!

Speaking to Fox Sports 1 after FIFA unveiled all of the host cities for the tournament on Thursday, the USMNT captain  shouted out Miami as a host city he was particularly looking forward to seeing.

“I think Miami is a really exciting one for me,” said Pulisic. “You know, my family is living down there now, and that’s going to be an amazing atmosphere for sure.”

Pulisic is a Pennsylvania native, so there were natural assumptions he would highlight Philadelphia. Unsurprisingly, though, Pulisic said he’s looking forward to “really, all of them. Just to be in this continent, it’s going to be special.”

Hard Rock Stadium, a 64,767-seat stadium that is normally home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins and the Miami Hurricanes NCAA football team, is technically a few miles north of Miami proper, though that likely won’t make a difference to fans based locally or coming in from abroad to one of the U.S.’s most tourist-friendly cities.

The tournament coming to Miami will be a first. South Florida did not host any games during the 1994 men’s World Cup, with Florida’s games instead taking place in Orlando. The United States has hosted two women’s World Cups, but Miami was not part of either the 1999 or 2003 editions.

It has, however, hosted six Super Bowls, dozens of summer club and national team friendlies, and was for 14 years the home of Monster Jam, arguably the pinnacle of monster truck events.

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10 wild photos from the USMNT’s ridiculously muddy match against El Salvador

Peak CONCACAF.

Given the FIFA stood by the horrible decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar in the winter, this summer’s international window has been full of meaningless friendlies and Nations League matches. That meant the U.S. men’s national team was stuck playing one more of those notoriously awful road matches in CONCACAF … during a World Cup year.

And, oh man, it was peak CONCACAF.

The USMNT traveled to El Salvador to play its second CONCACAF Nations League group stage match — a tournament stage that won’t resume until 2023. And while the U.S. easily defeated Grenada in Austin, a match in San Salvador was going to present a challenge unique to CONCACAF.

See: San Salvador was in the midst of multi-day rainfall, which wreaked havoc on the already-suspect playing surface at Estadio Cuscatlán. The result was a muddy (and dangerous) mess that the USMNT managed to escape with a point thanks to a stoppage-time goal.

The horrible field was the talk of U.S. Soccer Twitter all Tuesday night. I mean, look how horrible this is:

Photos from the match didn’t make the experience seem any more enjoyable for the players either.

Christian Pulisic se pintó el pelo y ahora todos creen que está en una boy band

Hemos reportado el pelo de Cristian Pulisic recientemente en esta página. Hace sólo una semana se especulaba fuertemente que la estrella de la selección de Estados Unidos se estaba dejando un “mullet” que en teoría podría usar suelto durante la Copa …

Hemos reportado el pelo de Cristian Pulisic recientemente en esta página.

Hace sólo una semana se especulaba fuertemente que la estrella de la selección de Estados Unidos se estaba dejando un “mullet” que en teoría podría usar suelto durante la Copa del Mundo.

Pero ahora ha habido un cambio. El delantero del Chelsea apareció en el trenamiento de la selección nacional de Estados Unidos el miércoles con un corte rubio sobre su creciente mullet.

Fundamentalmente, la estructura del corte de “negocio en el frente, fiesta en la parte de atrás” no ha sido tocado, lo cual hace pensar que Pulisic va a traer un mullet rubio sensacional durante el mundial.

Hubo bastantes reacciones al nuevo look de Pulisic, quien fue comparado con Guy Fieri, Machine Gun Kelly, un joven Landon Donovan y más importante, una boy band de principio de los 2000.

Traducción.- Este tuit hizo que mi Apple Music comenzara a poner 98 Degrees.

Traducción.- Christian Pulisic trayendo de regreso las luces y haciéndome pensar en los Back Street Boys.

 

Traducido por META