It has not been a great few months for some of the USMNT's mainstays. I've alreadymade my thoughts clearabout the Folarin Balogun saga. This time, I'm going to talk about Christian Pulisic, who is regarded by many as the LeBron James of soccer.
Pulisic's injury history gives Milan boss Ruben Amorim little choice
"I'm managing him."
That is part of how Ruben Amorim described his decision-making with regard to Pulisic and his continued absence from the AC Milan lineup, which has now reached its third Serie A contest.
Amorim did clarify that "Pulisic is back from injury", "Alpha [Alphadjo Cisse] is taking his place", and that "sometimes it's not just the technical and tactical aspects, it's also the physical aspect."
Say what you will about his checkered tenure with Manchester United, but he's right. To understand this reasoning, let's first take a look at his injury history.
Most recently, Pulisic suffered a hairline fracture that sidelined him for a good portion of the USMNT's World Cup campaign, including their 2-0 win against Australia. He's also missed significant chunks of time with both Chelsea and Milan for various injury reasons, which included a three-month absence at the start of the 2021-22 campaign. That came due to a positive COVID-19 test, as well as an ankle injury.
Pulisic's problematic relationship with managers
At the same time, Pulisic has been on the wrong end of strategic decision-making, which includes this recent decision by Amorim. When Chelsea went through their plethora of attacking players and managers during the 2022-23 season, Pulisic was often disregarded in favor of such footballers. At the end of last season, he was moved into a more central role that contributed to on-field struggles.
Even though Pulisic's slightly inconsistent goalscoring is noteworthy, he has scored more goals at Milan than at Chelsea or Borussia Dortmund, reinforcing his move to Italy from the Premier League as a positive one. And decisions to exclude/move Pulisic haven't exactly worked in the manager's favor; Chelsea hit a significant decline as the 2022-23 season went on, while Milan faded from the month of February onwards.
But so far, it seems that Amorim's decision to keep Pulisic from competition (in order to ensure that he has a deep squad to choose from on a regular basis) is paying dividends for the ex-United manager. Milan is unbeaten through three Serie A contests (they've accumulated two wins and a draw), a start that should have the squad in a decent position ahead of a Europa League campaign.
Is Amorim's decision set to trigger another major lineup change for the USMNT?
While it is still too early to tell if this will negatively impact Pulisic's place in the USMNT, it is worth noting that Balogun is facing a somewhat similar situation. After a medical with Everton forced the Merseyside club and Monaco - Balogun's current team - back to the negotiating table, the New York City native decided to remain in the south of France, though his absence from squad action continued as Monaco's form remained strong.
The one difference is that Pulisic will be included in Milan's Europa League squad, while Balogun will miss out on Monaco's European action. That could very well confirm that Pulisic's ongoing absence is more about a desire to ensure the health of top players rather than to manage a complicated off-field situation amid a strong start.
Even then, with both Monaco and Milan enjoying their own success without their USMNT stars, it's possible to suggest that Pulisic could join Balogun as a major exclusion from Mauricio Pochettino's next lineup.
That argument will more than certainly be contradicted with ease; those who may do so will point to Pulisic's past heroics. Be it a Man of the Match award against England, his goal to send the United States into the knockout round at that same Qatar World Cup, or even his involvement in the USMNT's Nations League success, Pulisic has been instrumental in the USMNT's competitive success, and his impact has been quite valuable in recent years.
But even with his past USMNT heroics in mind, the injury history and the exclusions are still noteworthy. Though the above and the fact that he is 27 still detract from those arguments, they are nonetheless part of a concerning trend involving the USMNT's biggest stars.
And one can't typically ride the bench into an international appearance. This is true when considering that other American forwards/midfielders are finding success in recent times. After all, we just saw ex-Norwich City forward Josh Sargent propel Toronto FC to a massive point against Robert Lewandowski's Chicago Fire.
What could USMNT look like without Pulisic?
But he's not the only ex-USMNT/USYNT player to be finding form in MLS. Philadelphia Union forward Cavan Sullivan is still enjoying a successful run of form; he scored the insurance goal in a 2-0 win over CF Montreal, which extended his club's unbeaten run while propelling them into the second Eastern Conference Wild Card slot. Let's also not forget about Julian Hall, who had previously been instrumental in Red Bull New York's early-season success and is still poised for a massive-and-impending decision between American and Polish national team allegiance.
All three forwards could potentially spell trouble for Pulisic's place in the USMNT. And given that MLS represented a significant portion of the USMNT roster at the last World Cup, it's not unreasonable to assume that Pochettino will decide to bring a few more continental stars into the fold.
As the next international window draws nearer, major decisions will have to be made. Even with Haji Wright's injury situation in mind, Pochettino is going to have a lot of tough decisions to make, and that could potentially mean excluding one of the stars of the latest footballing revolution in the United States.
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