IRVINE, Calif. — United States men’s national team attacker Christian Pulisic said he’s ready to play in the USMNT’s group stage finale on Thursday, but added he’s “probably not ready” to play 90 minutes.
Pulisic returned to full training this week after sitting out the Americans’ 2-0 win over Australia due to a left calf injury that he first sustained in training prior to the Paraguay match. So far, Pulisic has logged just 45 minutes at this World Cup.
“I’m feeling good. I joined the team the last couple days and yeah, I’m hoping to play a part in [Thursday] for sure,” he told reporters.
When asked if he would be on a minutes restriction Pulisic said he’d discuss that with the coaches and medical staff.
“Obviously, not a good chance I’ll probably go and play 90 right away normally after you come back and miss a game, but we’ll see,” he said.
At the time of the calf injury, the thought was that Pulisic wouldn’t miss much time. But the injury dragged on for a bit, resulting in him sitting out the Americans’ second match against Australia. He admitted it was a different experience watching and supporting as opposed to playing.
“It was obviously a different set of emotions for sure, not being able to play, but I enjoyed just being on the sideline, being around the team,” he said. “I wanted to be there and yeah, just still living that World Cup game. I obviously just couldn’t be happier and prouder of how the guys handled that whole situation. I had faith in them. I knew they would. It’s a really cool team to be a part of and I just enjoy the experience a lot.”
Yet Pulisic said he was always confident he wouldn’t miss much time.
“Honestly, I never feared anything worse. I was pushing and I was really close to trying to be available for the last game for sure,” he said. “But obviously I did feel a little something, but I definitely was able to push through in the first half [against Paraguay] with adrenaline and just get me through. But yeah, it wasn’t quite ready, but it wasn’t anything where I feared anything worse than really what it was.”
If Pulisic plays against Türkiye, it will have been almost two weeks since he last played a competitive match. But Pulisic added that he doesn’t think it will take much to regain match sharpness.
“I haven’t been off. I’ve been working every single day a lot,” he said. “No, I don’t think that’s enough time to lose sharpness. I’ve been touching the ball every day and whatnot. I’m working a lot. So get a couple training sessions in, I’d say I’ll feel ready.”
U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino is expected to rotate his squad at least a little bit. Midfielder Tyler Adams, forward Folarin Balogun, center back Chris Richards and left back Antonee Robinson all sitting on yellow cards, and should all sit on the bench, and thus not risk picking up a second yellow card and getting suspended for the round of 32 match.
Pulisic said he has confidence in whoever Pochettino selects to be in the lineup, though midfielder Cristian Roldan is doubtful to play due to a muscle strain.
“I think everyone on this team is ready to step up,” He said. “I feel like it would just be a normal thing for us. We’re going to support and push everyone the same way, whoever gets the opportunity tomorrow to play, whatever the decisions may be. Everyone’s going to be ready and it just shows how much more depth and what a strong team that we have.
