IRVINE, CA — Christian Pulisic’s legacy is on the line at this World Cup.
Overseas, he long ago cemented himself as a star. He’s played in the world’s best leagues and scored goals in bunches for AC Milan, one of the most storied teams in the game. He’s so well known in Europe he can’t go to a restaurant or a coffee shop without causing a stir.
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It’s the impact he has on this U.S. men’s national team that will determine how he’s viewed in his home country, however.
Take the USMNT on a historically deep run at this World Cup, and the expectations that have shadowed Pulisic for the better part of a decade will be fulfilled. If the USMNT falls flat, or Pulisic is a non-factor, the burden will fall on his shoulders, one more athlete whose hype proved to be greater than his reality.
The U.S. men begin play Friday, June 12, against Paraguay.
“There’s so many good players around me, I genuinely don’t feel like I have to do anything on my own,” Pulisic said before training on Thursday, June 11. “I’m going to give the best I can. I want to help the team.
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“Of course, they expect a lot out of me,” he added, “But with the guys that I have around me, honestly, it makes it a lot easier for me.”
Making Pulisic be the standard bearer for the game in the United States was never fair. Just as it wasn’t fair to thrust Landon Donovan into a similar spotlight.
Yes, Pulisic is insanely talented. You don’t go to Europe before you can drive and garner $20 million-plus transfer fees if you’re not. He’s also attractive, with a charming back story. (You’ll hear it mentioned a time or 12 that Pulisic is from Hershey, Pennsylvania.)
But tasking one person with changing the fortunes of a game in a country as large and with as many entrenched sports as the United States is foolish. No one person can get kids to stick with soccer when they get to junior high or high school. No one player can get Americans to care as much about soccer as they do basketball or football.
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And yet, that’s the expectation of Pulisic at this World Cup.
“He needs to be an important player for us during this competition,” USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino acknowledged.
Soccer is hardly the niche sport it was the last time the World Cup was here. Lionel Messi is as big a star as Patrick Mahomes or LeBron James. Soccer jerseys are as ubiquitous as NFL and NBA jerseys. It’s easier to watch EPL games than out-of-market NFL games.
But soccer does not yet generate the fervor it does in Europe or South America, and it still lags well behind the NFL and NBA for social influence. This World Cup could change that, sparking another explosion in growth.
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For that to happen, though, the USMNT has to win. And that is going to require Pulisic to do something spectacular. Goals, magician-like footwork, filthy assists – something that catches the imagination of the American public.
Even in this “Golden Generation” of the USMNT, Pulisic is still the sun around which everyone orbits.
“I can’t even imagine the weight that’s on his shoulders,” said U.S. teammate Tyler Adams, who has played with Pulisic since they were teenagers.
“We rely on him in big moments but, that being said, I hope he doesn’t feel the pressure to carry it all,” Adams added. “Just be himself and grow into each game.”
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Pulisic is an introvert, and he doesn’t enjoy the position he’s been put in. He can be prickly, especially with questions he’s been asked a million times or ones he thinks diminish his teammates.
But he will do the interviews and the commercials because he’s passionate about playing for the national team – when the USMNT failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Pulisic sobbed on the field – and he wants the game he loves to grow in his own country.
“Having good guys around me, I trust them a lot. They help me, they support me. They don’t put any pressure on me,” Pulisic said. “I feel like it’s a really good dynamic that we have.”
Pulisic’s teammates and people who know soccer know he’s a generational talent who has changed the way the rest of the world looks at players from the U.S. But to many in this country, Pulisic still has to prove himself.
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He’s got the next month to get it done.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Christian Pulisic puts his USMNT legacy on the line in 2026 World Cup
