USMNT: Christian Pulisic seeks direction
After the USMNT’s loss to England, Christian Pulisic looks ready for a new manager and a set identity on the pitch. He’s not alone in thinking this.
Wembley — Christian Pulisic receives the ball around the midfield line, skipping past Ben Chilwell with a clever turn. He takes another heavy touch around Lewis Dunk and marauds his way towards goal. His forced save proved to be the USMNT’s best chance in their 3-0 loss to England on Thursday.
It was a frustrating night for all of the U.S. players on the pitch. Is it surprising that the USMNT has to rely on the young American leader for the majority of its creative play though? At this point, not really. That is the problem.
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The hype train propelling this directionless, managerless, yet extremely young group of players is running out of steam. The thing is, trains can run without steam but they can’t do so efficiently.
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According to Jack Rosser’s article, “How Christian Pulisic deals with the pressure of being Captain America” for Evening Standard, Pulisic spoke on his role with the USMNT and the attached pressures, saying:
"All I can do is give my best, be a part of this team, be there for the young guys. I mean I’m young too, but just be there for them and help this team to grow and help these guys out… I am not constantly checking articles, what people are saying [on] Twitter."
Ouch. I guess Pulisic doesn’t read all my articles about him.
Did you catch what he was saying? The Dortmund star realizes it is not on his shoulders to define the style, culture, and plan for this nation moving forward. He’s ready for the majority of these pressures to be offloaded onto a manager.
Now that Gregg Berhalter’s Columbus Crew is out of the running for MLS Cup, it seems that it is only a matter of time before he is announced as the new U.S. manager. Still, having to wait until the end of these friendlies or maybe even longer only prolongs the team’s inability to build momentum and to start really developing into the side that we could see in 2022.
Knock on wood.
Amid swirling reports of his alleged transfer to the premier league, this 20-year old kid is just ready for direction and I don’t think he’s alone. Luckily for the others, they are not being relied on as the focal point in the USMNT’s state of limbo.
Pulisic deservedly has been crowned the shining star and leader of the USMNT’s next generation. While it may seem natural for this title to come with pressure, such pressure should be solely to do his job well on the pitch, not to define a plan that should be created off of it.
It’s time for the USMNT and U.S. soccer hierarchy to break the catastrophic trend of assuming things will be sorted out without collective action and responsibility.
Next. USMNT Vs England: Players not to blame. dark
What’s wrong with the picture of the USMNT’s best chance on Thursday?
Everyone was standing around watching Pulisic.