Christian Pulisic is questionable for Friday’s World Cup match against Australia after a calf issue that has left the USMNT waiting on a late call from Mauricio Pochettino. The decision will not come until Thursday night, after Pochettino and his assistant coaches meet with the team’s performance staff.
That is why the question of Is Pulisic Playing has become the focus in Seattle. Pulisic, 27, exited the United States’ World Cup-opening win over Paraguay at halftime, and Pochettino said that if he is not available on Friday, he should be ready for the next game.
Pulisic spent the week away from full team work. On Monday, he trained on a far field and in a makeshift gym. On Tuesday and Wednesday, he completed two modified training sessions, including light ball work, lateral jumps and single-leg hops. By Wednesday, he was still day-to-day and wearing a black compression sleeve over his left calf.
The injury has been handled as a precaution from the start. Pulisic said he got a bit of a kick in the same left calf area during the first half against Paraguay, after taking a kick in training two days before the opener. He played 45 minutes and was then replaced by Sebastian Berhalter, with Pochettino and Pulisic both indicating the change was precautionary. The United States still won 3-0, but the result did not answer the larger question of how soon its most important attacking player could return.
Pochettino said Pulisic is evolving and much better than he was after last Friday’s match, and Tyler Adams tried to cool the concern on Monday by saying, “Christian will be ready, everyone, let’s relax.” But Pochettino still would not say whether Pulisic would face Australia, and that is the point of Thursday night’s meeting: not a theory, a timetable. If Pulisic is held out, the coach has already said the forward will be available for the next game. For the United States, that means the line between caution and availability will be drawn before kickoff, not after.
