Scapegoating Christian Pulisic for USMNT World Cup defeat is neither fair nor accurate

Perhaps it is a sign of this country’s growth as a soccer nation that the United States men’s national team’s best player is being harangued by the public and media for the offense of playing terribly in an essential World Cup game.

And then getting injured.

It’s hard to imagine, though, Christian Pulisic thinking of this as progress.

“I’d be perfectly fine if we never see Christian Pulisic in a USMNT uniform again,” wrote the Mr.InvisibleTexan account on X/Twitter.

"You asked to be excused from national team duty in the summer of 2025 so that you can focus on AC Milan and be in top form for the 2026 World Cup, in which you came up short,” appeared on the X account mario_anchor.

And that’s on top of some withering criticism from former U.S. players and the media in general.

Carli Lloyd not mincing words on USMNT or Christian Pulisic pic.twitter.com/EahB27vG4J

All of this came before it was revealed Pulisic had sustained a microfracture and bone bruise in his right leg when opponent Youri Tielemans stepped in front of his shot during the United States’ humiliating 4-1 loss Monday to Belgium in the 2026 World Cup Round of 16.

Not that this news led to much sympathy.

“Pulisic was coddled for a literal decade … for THIS tournament. And then he gave the ball away 11 times in 45 minutes and cried about his leg … he shouldn’t be representing the country anymore. Especially not as a leader,” wrote the dustycrim account Thursday morning.

David Beckham was treated much worse by England’s media and after his red-card foul in the 1998 World Cup loss to Argentina. There was anti-Roberto Baggio graffiti in Italy after he blew his penalty attempt over the crossbar in the shootout that decided the 1994 World Cup in Brazil’s favor. Mexico fans were livid after a 2-0 loss to the USMNT at the 2002 World Cup denied El Tri the coveted quinto partido.

Now Pulisic’s getting his dose of this, and it seems fair to ask why he would want to continue representing the USMNT given how much of the punishment for the USMNT’s horrendous performance against Belgium has been directed at him.

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Indeed, he was awful. There are stats that show it, and it was there to be seen by everyone who watched the game in person in the Seattle stadium or on television. Thing is, every American player was. Every last one. There are some exempting midfielder Malik Tillman from this because he scored a goal, but he was more or less as poor in all the same areas as his teammates. Maybe striker Folarin Balogun gets a pass because he fielded so few during the course of the game, his teammates routinely fumbling it away before it reached him.

This was a collective failure, though. The only way one reasonably can trace it to Pulisic is through the assertion that if he’d arrived prepared to play at the top of his game, perhaps some or all would have followed.

No, he’s isolated because he’s the star. Which is problematic enough, except it is compounded both through misinterpretation and misinformation.

Asked specifically by Fox Sports’ Jenny Taft about being in pain on the field and what he was dealing with, Pulisic responded, “I just twisted my ankle and sprained my ankle … it’s just frustrating to end like that, of course. But now I get time to rest, so it’ll be OK.”

He was referring specifically to the injury. Not to the elimination of the USMNT, the end of their World Cup dreams. He was talking about his leg. It hurts now; it won’t after he’s had time for it to heal. The quote was taken out of context.

It’s been cited that he’s left three of the seven World Cup games he has started in 2022 and 2026 with injury. Yeah, but let’s be entirely honest about those numbers.

He was injured in 2022 in the final group game against Iran – one the United States had to win or be eliminated – by risking a high speed collision with the opposing goalkeeper in order to strike the ball into the goal to provide the game’s only score. As the ball crossed the line, the knee of keeper Alireza Beiranvand collided with Pulisic’s “groin”, as we’ve been taught to say euphemistically. It wasn’t his groin. Let’s just say few soccer plays have sacrificed more in pursuit of a single goal.

The second of those departures came in the opening game of this World Cup, when he played 45 minutes of soccer that rank, personally and collectively, with the best in USMNT history. He left because the Americans had a 3-goal lead they figured to protect without him.

And the third episode was Monday, when Thielmans was not called for a foul even though he put his foot in front of Pulisic’s leg as it already was being swung toward the ball. It appeared at first as if Pulisic had dragged his foot on the turf; no, it was Thielmans sneaking in his left leg to prevent the shot. Ever kicked a chair or table leg by accident? Now imagine that at the full force necessary to propel a soccer ball past a world-class goalkeeper.

Pulisic has played 90 times for the USMNT and scored 33 goals. In addition to that World Cup gem against Iran, he scored twice in the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League final win over Mexico, bagged a hat trick against Panama in the game that effectively clinched qualification for the 2022 World Cup, gave the U.S. a lead it would not relinquish in that same qualifying cycle at home against Mexico and the game-winner in the first Nations League final triumph against El Tri.

This is not a career, to date, that warrants an apology.

His performance Monday does, but he would not be alone in that.

Pulisic never has helped himself in the area of public engagement. He barely tolerates the moments he is asked to speak with the media, perhaps a product of his early move to Europe, where interaction with those who cover his sport is rare and largely controlled. That is not his attitude alone. It was present with one or two of the brightest stars of past men’s teams. And yes, Pulisic is no Lionel Messi, but we’ve seen how Major League Soccer has had to accommodate the GOAT’s resistance to its longstanding media rules.

It’s reasonable to be mad about the USMNT for its performance in the Belgium game. It’s not OK, however, to rewrite the history of the Americans’ 2026 World Cup. It’s precisely because they were so good leading up to the Round of 16, with Pulisic very much included, that the performance was so heartbreaking.

They were really good. He was really good. Until they weren’t. And were really bad.

That’s the truth of it.

Can we stick to that, for a change?

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