Christian Pulisic will not play in the U.S. men’s national team’s match against Australia on Friday, and the decision forces a change in shape for a side that has already had to manage his lingering calf injury. Mauricio Pochettino confirmed the forward was unavailable, ending the uncertainty that had hung over his status since he was removed at halftime a week ago against Paraguay.
That matters now because Friday’s game at Lumen Field in Seattle is the U.S. men’s national team’s second match of the tournament, and the winner will be the overwhelming favorite to top Group D. With Pulisic out, Ricardo Pepi replaces him in the starting XI, a move that likely sends Pepi and Folarin Balogun up top and gives the U.S. a different look without one of its central attacking players.
Pulisic, 27, spent much of the week doing modified training sessions away from teammates, a sign that the team was never treating this as a simple rest day. Pochettino said on Thursday that Pulisic had been evolving and was much better than he was, and even suggested the call would come down late. But by Friday, the answer was clear. He had trained in the morning in camp, the coach said, and the feelings were good, yet not good enough to put him in the lineup.
That gap between improvement and availability is what makes this absence more than a routine lineup change. Pochettino sounded optimistic about the forward’s recovery and hoped he could be ready to be selected again as soon as possible, but he also made clear the team had to move on with the players available. For a U.S. side trying to keep control of the group, the loss of Pulisic is a real test of how much attacking rhythm it can carry without its most recognizable piece.
The timing is sharp, too. The U.S. next plays Turkey to close Group D on Thursday back at SoFi Stadium, which leaves little room for a slow recovery if the calf continues to limit him. For now, Friday belongs to the rest of the front line, and to a team that has to answer one of the hardest questions in tournament play: how to look dangerous when the player who usually changes the game is watching instead of starting.
