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Christian Pulisic will not feature in the U.S. men’s national team’s second game of the World Cup because of a lingering calf injury.
The U.S. today plays Australia after a 4-1 rout of Paraguay left Mauricio Pochettino’s side well-placed to qualify from Group D.
Australia, meanwhile, beat Turkey 2-0 and is also in a strong position to advance.
Matt Leckie comes into the side for Australia.
He scored the winner against Denmark in the group stage four years ago and brings plenty of pace down the right wing.
He replaces Conor Metcalfe, who scored Australia’s second against Turkey in the opening round but played largely as a wide midfielder in the 5-4-1.
Nestory Irankunda also drops to the bench as Tony Popovic shuffles his pack. I think he is expecting a 3-4-3 from the USMNT and has set up accordingly.
Christian Pulisic is OUT today for Team USA. What is your perspective on how his absence will impact the Americans? Who will need to step up in a significant way as a result? Here are a view of our subscribers' responses:
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The tactics will certainly change without Christian Pulisic.
I am intrigued to see whether Mauricio Pochettino and the U.S. keep their aggressive counter-press in place throughout the tournament. Pochettino told reporters yesterday that pressing is “how we feel about the game,” so I don’t expect a major shift against a low-block team like Australia.
The U.S. will approach this match in a way it has not approached any previous game under Mauricio Pochettino.
The only upside: just as we have no idea how it will look on the field, Australia has no idea how it will look, either.
I asked Australia coach Tony Popovic yesterday how he was game-planning for the U.S. given the uncertainty around Pulisic, and he gave a rambling answer that essentially implied: it is difficult. We don’t know.
“I’m sure he’ll play if he’s fit,” Popovic said of Pulisic. “When injuries occur, you need another option, another solution, and looking through their squad, they have plenty of options there. … We’ve looked at some of the players that have been playing when (Pulisic) hasn’t been there.”
Was Pepi one of those players? Surely not.
It will be fascinating to see how this team is set up.
Is it a straight 4-4-2? Is it a 3-5-2? Does Pepi play underneath Balogun as a sort of second forward?
The last option would make the most sense if the aim is to keep other roles throughout the team largely the same. This U.S. team has looked far better playing with wing backs than it has in any other formation.
You have to think Pepi will bring his own interpretation to Pulisic’s role, playing somewhat off Balogun.
The U.S. makes only one change from the lineup that beat Paraguay, injury-enforced: Ricardo Pepi in for Christian Pulisic.
It'll be the first time that the U.S. has played with two true strikers in a starting lineup under Pochettino.
And here’s the Australia team news.
The full USMNT team news is in.
Unfortunately for the USMNT, Christian Pulisic’s long injury history is now part of its 2026 World Cup campaign.
He has always been a player who excels in spurts, only for either an injury or a significant dip in form to end those hot streaks.
Mauricio Pochettino said forward Ricardo Pepi will start for the U.S. in place of Christian Pulisic.
It is an interesting tactical change for the U.S. The Americans have looked supremely comfortable and confident in the hybrid setup they used against Paraguay, as well as in friendly wins this fall.
Now, they will presumably move to a two-striker format, with Pepi pairing with Folarin Balogun up top.
The aim might be to add more goal-scoring options against Australia’s low block, but it will be interesting to see how the change affects the roles of every other player on the field and how it shapes the rest of the starting lineup.
Mauricio Pochettino told FOX:
💬 “Christian is not available. The evolution is really well. Today, he was training in the morning in the camp and I’ve seen the feelings are good. I hope as soon as possible he can be ready to be selected again and to be part of the team. Now, we need to be focused on our team and the players that are going to play.
“We have ahead a very important game and Australia is going to be really tough.
“[But] a little bit sad because he wanted to stay, he wanted to participate today.”
Christian Pulisic’s absence today is major news. He was really good versus Paraguay in that first half. One thing is certain however: the U.S. under Pochettino has won several games without him. The stakes are obviously much higher today, but a Pulisic injury isn't an anomaly.
U.S. men’s national team star Christian Pulisic will not play against Australia on Friday.
Pulisic, who injured his left calf in the win over Paraguay, did not train in full all week. The 27-year-old did take part in what the team called “modified training sessions.”
Pulisic’s absence is a major blow for the U.S. team. He is the creative hub of the U.S. attack, and his play sparked the first two U.S. goals against Paraguay. Pulisic subbed off at halftime of that 4-1 win due to the left calf injury.
Pochettino has a number of options to replace Pulisic in the lineup, including Tim Weah, Gio Reyna, Alejandro Zendejas and Brenden Aaronson. He might also mix things up by adding another central midfielder and pushing Malik Tillman or Weston McKennie to the winger spot.
Christian Pulisic will not play for the USMNT against Australia today, Mauricio Pochettino has just confirmed.
EXCLUSIVE: USA star Christian Pulisic is OUT today with a calf injury against Australia and Ricardo Pepi will get the start, USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino tells FOX Sports’ @JennyTaft. pic.twitter.com/ZobSiOfjYx
On the topic of Juneteenth: half of this U.S. team is Black.
After decades of overwhelmingly White teams, in a country where soccer has often been seen as an upper-middle-class White kid sport, the makeup of this team is powerful.
“It’s amazing,” midfielder Weston McKennie said yesterday. “Throughout the years, we have had Black players on the team, and maybe that has also helped the Black community, being able to show kids that there’s also soccer and not just American football and not just basketball.”
Chris Richards, who was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, by a Black father and White mother, said of the team’s racial diversity: “It’s pretty rare to see it like it is now. It’s been amazing to see guys who look like me playing at this top level.
“And for me, it’ll be cool to do something on Juneteenth, especially with the history of the holiday and also where I’m from. It just means a little bit more.”
Today isn’t just a special day for U.S. soccer. It's also Juneteenth, a federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States.
At all four World Cup matches today in the States, FIFA will play a video around an hour before kickoff. Here’s the one that will play in Seattle.
While walking over Waterloo Bridge in London on our way to an American bar to watch the game, my colleague Amelie Claydon and I bumped into U.S.-based soccer fan Sam Boebel, from Chicago.
Sam, 41, was proudly sporting his USMNT colors while in London to see friends from his time studying in England.
Sam plans to watch the match and was “excited to see Balogun, Adams, McKennie and Pulisic play again after the overexcitement from the win over Paraguay.”
“I was a ’90s kid during the last World Cup in the U.S., and I feel that the range of true soccer fans is broader than it ever has been,” he said.
This is Christina Horst, a longtime soccer fan and former player, originally from New Mexico, now living in Vancouver, Washington.
Going to a U.S. World Cup game has long been a “bucket list” item for her. But when I asked her how she got tickets, she began to tear up.
Her youngest brother was also a “diehard fan.” A couple years ago, he passed away unexpectedly from an illness.
Shortly thereafter, Christina was diagnosed with cancer. So, for Christmas this past year, her middle brother bought her two tickets to this U.S.-Australia match. “We have a lot of love, and support, and we're gonna live life,” she told The Athletic. “We only have one shot at it.”
So, last night, she and her son drove to Seattle from Vancouver, Wash. They were the very first fans in through the gates and into the upper deck of Lumen Field, Section 338. She wiped tears from underneath her eyes as she took in the scene, and imagined the energy that she's about to feel, that she’d only previously seen and heard on TV.
“Walking through those gates,” she said, “it was like — wow, dream come true.”
And as she thought about her late brother, she said: “I know he's watching with us.”
Christian Pulisic is walking around the field right now, chatting initially with Cristian Roldan and Gio Reyna. Now he's talking to Sebastian Berhalter.
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