Fair to say, plenty of United States players impressed as they demolished Paraguay 4-1 in their World Cup opener, scoring 4+ in a match at the tournament for the first time ever. Chris Richards was rock-solid at the back, Sergiño Dest was dynamic down the right, Malik Tillman looked accomplished in midfield while Folarin Balogun was brilliant in attack, scoring two quick-fire goals in LA.
However, despite only being on the field for 45 minutes, it was clear for all to see that Christian Pulisic is the USA's star. The winger was substituted at half time, replaced by Sebastian Berhalter, with many fearing that he had suffered an injury; Pulisic confirmed later this was just a precaution. While he was on the pitch, he created two big chances, accumulated two key passes, touched the ball 37 times and completed four of six attempted dribbles, running circles around right-back Juan José Cáceres.
Crucially, Pulisic set up the USA's all-important second goal, pulling the ball back for Balogun who confidently slotted into Orlando Gill's bottom corner. This was Pulisic's third World Cup assist for the USMNT, which is the outright most of any American player.
Christian Pulisic's World Cup assists
- Nov 2022: USA 1-1 Wales. Ahmad bin Ali Stadium. Assist for Tim Weah 36'.
- Dec 2022: Netherlands 3-1 USA. Khalifa International Stadium. Assist for Haji Wright 76'.
- Jun 2026: USA 4-1 Paraguay. SoFi Stadium. Assist for Folarin Balogun 31'.
In total, that's now one goal and three assists across five World Cup appearance for Pulisic, the goalless draw against England at Al-Bayt Stadium the only game he hasn't registered one of either. Across all competitions, Pulisic now has 21 assists for the Stars and Stripes, behind only Cobi Jones (22), Michael Bradley (23) and Landon Donovan, who is a long way clear at the top on 58.
Well, at World Cups, as noted by StatMuse, Pulisic now has more assists than Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese legend has scored eight times at the tournament, all coming in group games, but has just two assists to his name, these against Korea DPR in Cape Town in 2010 and the U.S. themselves at Arena da Amazônia four years later. 41 year old Ronaldo could add to his tally when Portugal commence their 2026 campaign against DR Congo in Houston on Wednesday.
Pulisic's tally of three World Cup assists also matches the tallies achieved by Wesley Sneijder, Robin van Persie, Jairzinho, Rivaldo, Michel Platini, Andrés Iniesta, Kylian Mbappé and many other bona fide legends It is also more than not only Ronaldo, but Roberto Baggio, Ángel Di María, Xavi and Lothar Matthäus too. Well, if the United States are going to enjoy an elongated run at this summer's tournament, plenty more Pulisic goal contributions will be required,
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