Christian Pulisic

Pulisic trained to the side Monday following a knock he received against Paraguay, but is still expected to make their match against Australia on Friday, according to Ben Jacobs of TalkSPORT Live.

Analysis: Pulisic is only an option for training on the side Monday, but is still seeing some positive news, as the attacker is still likely to make the second match of the group stage. The likely plan is to have him boost his training as the week goes on, not putting too much pressure on him to be training with teammates now. Either way, this will bring confidence to the team after their opening game win, as Pulisic played a major part before his exit from the field.

Jun 12, 2026

Assist, off at halftime

Pulisic recorded one assist before exiting the field at halftime in Friday's World Cup opener against Paraguay as a precaution, the player told Doug McIntyre of Fox Sports. "I just got a bit of a kick in the first half, so I'm really hoping that it's nothing. Taking a little bit of precaution today, but I'm hoping I'll be fine the next few days."

Analysis: Pulisic started his World Cup on the right note Friday, as the attacker recorded an assist on the USMNT's second goal of the match. However, this was not all, as his dribbling and movement into the box were the main reasons for the own goal that gave the team their opener. He would then be taken off at halftime, given the scoreline, preserving him for future games, as he didn't appear to come off injured. A start like this for Captain America is a bright sign at the 2026 World Cup, appearing to be in the correct form to lead this team on a run.

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