After being hyped for years as the ‘face’ of American soccer, Christian Pulisic put up a poor performance at the World Cup which has led to criticism of his abilities.
The AC Milan star came into the World Cup having not scored a goal for his club since December – while only managing two goal contributions from January through the end of the season in May.
He brought some hope for his World Cup campaign with a goal and an assist in a late-May friendly victory for the United States over Senegal.
But at the tournament, Pulisic did not play to the level his hype demanded. He bagged an assist in the opening match against Paraguay, but didn’t perform well in the three games he played after missing the Australia match with an injury.
His worst performance by far came in the Round of 16 against Belgium. Pulisic turned the ball over a team-high eleven times before being taken off at the 59th minute – due in part to an ankle injury.
Fox cameras caught the moment Pulisic watched the USMNT’s catastrophic third goal go in the back of the net. The dazed winger walked slowly before wiping his face in his jersey. Minutes later, he would be taken off.
American soccer fans blasted Christian Pulisic for his poor form at the 2026 World Cup
Pulisic turned the ball over 11 times in the USMNT’s Round of 16 exit at the hands of Belgium
The AC Milan winger eventually exited the match with an injury to his ankle
Fans criticized Pulisic for his notably subdued reaction during the midst of such a devastating result.
‘Yeah. He’s like, I’m out. Quit on his team,’ wrote one user on X.
Another said, ‘Bum ready to walk out as soon as the goal went in. Never seen a more trash so called star player ever.’
‘Laziest player of the game, should have been subbed by halftime,’ read one comment.
One response read, ‘Maybe tell him to play to his capabilities when it’s a good team and not just against opponents you know you can do it against? Him, Ream and Freese have dragged us down all game.’
‘He doesn’t care. He wouldn’t play on my national team ever again,’ read another reply.
One user felt bad for Pulisic and commented, ‘I really wanted better for him.’
But another said, ‘Need a new face of US Soccer. He ain’t it…’
Pulisic, on his injury: ‘I mean, whatever. I have time to rest. It’s just unfortunate way to finish’
The winger has scored one goal and three assists in his last 14 games for his country
After the match concluded, Pulisic revealed the extent of his injury to reporters.
‘I just totally twisted my ankle and my knee in one play,’ Pulisic said (via ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle). ‘I mean, whatever. I have time to rest. It’s just an unfortunate way to finish.’
Despite the lack of goals, Pulisic still had a high sense of how he played in this tournament.
‘I felt really good this summer with the guys and I thought my level was high,’ Pulisic said.
‘Yeah, it’s disappointing. I didn’t quite have the moments I was hoping to and to try to help us to really push and get over this next step of beating a really good team.
‘I’m disappointed with myself, of course, but I’m going to try to stay positive. I did a lot of good things and the team did as well.’
The winger has one goal and three assists in his last 14 games for his country.
