Christian Pulisic is probably too talented to be kept off of Team USA in the 2030 FIFA World Cup. But it might take until then for the underachieving striker’s reputation to recover from the beating he’s taking across sports media following the USMNT’s 4-1 loss to Belgium on Monday night.
Unlike previous men’s national teams—which largely shared media blame after an early World Cup exit—Pulisic is seemingly being panned as the sole scapegoat for Team USA’s embarrassing round of 16 loss.
The criticism fired at Pulisic has been withering and personal. It’s not just that the 27-year-old came up small, along with the rest of the U.S. side, on the world stage—his teammates did, too. It’s that Pulisic is being ripped as a quitter with no heart; a soft, pampered prima donna who doesn’t have the guts to live up to his “Captain America” nickname.
Yes, there’s the uproar by disappointed Team USA fans who thought we finally had a side that could go toe-to-toe with Lionel Messi’s Argentina or Kylian Mbappe and France. But the worst part for Pulisic’s gold-plated brand is the pummeling he’s getting from pillars of the soccer community.
Women’s soccer legend turned Fox Sports analyst Carli Lloyd landed a one-two punch reminiscent of Muhammad Ali. After Monday night’s loss, Lloyd singled out Pulisic as one of the primary “big-time players” who shrank from the moment.
