INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Christian Pulisic returned to the field for the United States on Thursday night just in time to warm up for the World Cup games that really matter starting next week.Pulisic entered the Americans’ 3-2 loss to Turkey as a substitute early in the second half to the soundtrack of an enormous roar from the sellout crowd at SoFi Stadium.He immediately looked comfortable in his first game action in 13 days, contributing to several strong attacks and coming awfully close to scoring a goal shortly after his entrance. Pulisic also had a lowlight when rising star Arda Güler nutmegged him — flicked the ball between his legs — to begin the sequence that ended with Kaan Ayhan’s winning goal on the final kick of the match.The loss didn’t matter to the Americans, but the chance to prepare for next week was the important part. The U.S. faces Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32 on Wednesday.
“His goal was to get some minutes to be ready” for next week, U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said. “I’m happy because I think he made a good impact when he was on the pitch.”Pulisic played dynamically in the first half of the Americans’ tournament-opening, 4-1 victory over Paraguay nearly two weeks ago, creating one goal and assisting on another — but he came off at halftime due to a calf injury he had picked up in training.
