NEW YORK — Exactly 21 hours after being booed off a field in Italy, after his half-season from hell ended without a goal in 19 consecutive matches, Christian Pulisic emerged from the backseat of a customized yellow taxi here in Manhattan, saw a throng of adoring kids, and flashed a smile.He was hours removed from a transatlantic flight the morning after he and AC Milan fell short of the Champions League. As he slept one last time at his home in Milan, Italian papers branded their collapse a “nightmare” and “disaster.” While in transit Monday morning, his coach got sacked and his club cleaned house amid fan outrage.To the dozens of kids who lined Fulton Street on New York’s South Seaport, however, he was still “Captain America.” As he waded through a crowd, surrounded by four security guards and dozens of cameras, phones and sharpies shot into the air.Pulisic looked tired and at times overwhelmed at this public event organized by Puma, but the teens who cracked jokes or tried to dap him up brought grins to his face.“It definitely brightens my spirits,” he told The Athletic an hour later.And it was, in a way, the perfect escape from Italian frustration, the perfect start to a legacy-defining World Cup summer.Christian Pulisic signs an autograph for a young fan (Zach Hilty / BFA for Puma)“I’m turning the page now,” Pulisic said in a quiet corner of the KidSuper studios in Brooklyn, where he showcased the custom boots he’ll wear next month. “Obviously I have to focus on what’s ahead of me, the World Cup, and give my best for USA.” The instant barrage of promotional events, of media and photoshoots, he added, “definitely allows me to do that.”On Tuesday, 24 hours later, he will be named to the United States roster for the 2026 mega-tournament. With tens of millions of Americans watching, he’ll be expected to carry the U.S. men’s national team on a run into the knockout rounds. He feels like his whole career has been building toward this pressure-packed moment. He wants, desperately, to meet it.But the monthslong buildup to it has been inauspicious.After a flying start to the season at AC Milan, Pulisic began sputtering in January. He has not scored a single goal in 2026. The drought will soon hit five months, and is the longest of his soccer-playing life.