Christian Pulisic flourishes as USMNT’s most important player

ARLINGTON, Texas — Christian Pulisic’s career has taken him to all kinds of places. Starting out in his hometown of Hershey, Pennsylvania, he has since ventured to Dortmund, London and Milan. His forays with the United States men’s national team have taken him to exotic stops, including the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Yet in Sunday’s Copa América opener against Bolivia, Pulisic came full circle. On his international debut eight years ago, he scored a late goal to add extra sparkle to a 4-0 win over – you guessed it – Bolivia. The opposing goalkeeper that day was a certain Guillermo Viscarra. In Sunday’s match, Pulisic found the net just under three minutes later, cutting inside after a short corner was played to him and firing an unstoppable shot past Viscarra and just under the crossbar. The feeling of déjà vu was palpable; Same opponent, same goalkeeper and almost the same result. The stakes were a little higher on this occasion, but with Pulisic adding an assist on Folarin Balogun’s goal, the United States eventually won 2-0 and got their Copa América campaign off to a flying start. .

This is a vital result given Bolivia are the weakest team in Group C. The green have not won a competitive away match since 2015. Dropping points would have put the United States in a difficult situation from the start. Instead, he did enough, and he has Pulisic’s brilliance to thank for that. The United States has regularly struggled to overcome defensive opponents, as recently as last March’s Concacaf Nations League semifinal against Jamaica. But Pulisic’s third-minute goal eased nerves and restored confidence.

The 25-year-old also showed a little more emotion than usual considering it was the 30th goal of his international career. As he ran towards the bench, he pointed at set-piece coach Gianni Vio, who set up the play, and was then mobbed by his teammates. When asked to explain his reaction, Pulisic said: “It’s the Copa América, it’s a big tournament, I think. I mean, I feel like I’m always pretty excited after scoring, but it’s a big moment, it’s a major tournament, so I don’t take it for granted.

Pulisic has all the appearances of a player in his prime. His club season with AC Milan was the best and most consistent of his career. He has earned the trust of managers, both at club and international level, and above all, he has confidence in himself. Nagging injuries seem to be a thing of the past – knock on wood – and although he has long been one of the USMNT’s most important players, he seems capable of taking his team to greater heights. In the past, Pulisic seemed weighed down by expectations, particularly those of being a leader. Now he seems to have been liberated by them.

“I think he’s got his confidence back in his game, and everyone needs that reinvigoration at some point in their career and continuing to evolve,” midfielder Tyler Adams said. “And he’s by no means the finished product. He continues to grow every day.”

Adams noted that Pulisic’s defensive effort was just as important as his contribution in the attacking half, adding: “What he did against the ball was so important for our team because when people see players like this one doing this, everyone wants to do it.”

Pulisic’s contribution was also highlighted by manager Gregg Berhalter, who called his captain a “selfless leader”.

“And then what you see is him supporting his teammates, supporting the guys, pushing the guys. For me, it was an outstanding performance tonight,” he said. declared.

Looking at the score and the opponent, one is tempted to think that the United States didn’t need their captain to be at his best on Sunday, but that they needed him to be close enough. After Pulisic scored, the United States went into a strange funk, where they were reluctant to pick up the tempo. Passes coming out of the back started to go astray. The midfield looked disjointed.

Asked about this period of the match, Berhalter said: “It’s difficult to control a game against a team that constantly presses you.” But the problem wasn’t so much what Bolivia was doing as it was the United States’ inability to connect on simple passes. The energy brought by the United States in the first minutes seemed to leave the building. Bolivia at least got a foothold in the match, even if it did not threaten the American goal that much.

Fortunately, in the 44th minute, another highlight-reel moment from Pulisic created valuable breathing room. Collecting the ball in the central channel, Pulisic raced towards the Bolivian defense, slipped a pass to Balogun, who then provided a laser-guided finish inside the far post.

The match opened in the second half. The United States had an xG of 2.47 after halftime, compared to just 0.5 in the first half. Ricardo Pepi, who replaced Balogun in the 65th minute, looked absolutely nailed in front of goal, as Viscarra denied him with several spectacular saves. The United States will be hoping their failure to convert doesn’t cost them much in terms of goal differential, which could decide the group.

The impulse then is to think about finishing, but the bigger issue is how often the US continued to give the ball away from the back. Chris Richards in particular struggled with the ball. It was his gift that forced Weston McKennie to pick up a yellow card in the 49th minute to deny Bolivia a counter-attacking opportunity. And the normally reliable Tim Ream has also fallen on hard times.

A better team than Bolivia would have punished the hosts. But fortunately for the USMNT, this Copa América offers an example where match order helps them, in that they can eliminate some bad plays from their system in the hopes that they will be more accurate in the more difficult matches. difficult to come. It starts with a game against Panama on Thursday, a familiar foe that has given the United States trouble in the past. With the Canaleros Losing 3-1 to Uruguay in Sunday’s late match, the United States is in position to clinch a place in the round of 16 with a victory. This is a physical game, and the United States will need to display the required level of concentration and intensity that they are known for when they play well.

“It’s the Copa América. Every team is going to be flying, ready to fight and we don’t expect an easy match at all,” Pulisic said of the upcoming match. “So we need to perform even better today if we want to get a good result.”

Given Pulisic’s current form, the USMNT will like his chances.