U.S. World Cup Team Training Base (IRVINE, Calif.) — Christian Pulisic emerged from the U.S. men’s national team’s pop-up training tent and jogged to the far side of the field. His teammates had already begun warming up ahead of Wednesday’s practice, making this the third day in a row that the squad had to work out without him. Pulisic is participating in “modified training” and is “day-to-day” according to a U.S. Soccer spokesperson. The superstar forward left the Americans’ 4-1 World Cup opening victory vs. Paraguay last Friday in the first half after he was kicked in the back of his leg. He wore what appeared to be some kind of black compression sleeve around his left calf on Wednesday while he went through light passing drills with team trainers. The USA faces Australia on Friday in Seattle for its second group stage match (3 p.m. ET on FOX/FOX One). The nations are tied atop Group D with three points, but the U.S. has a slight advantage on goal differential. At the moment, it’s unclear if Pulisic will be available to play. His teammates, a few of whom have spoken with the media this week, are hopeful. U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino is expected to address the issue at his press conference on Thursday. However, it’s unlikely he’ll reveal any trade secrets – and Pulisic’s status probably won’t be public knowledge until lineups are released on Friday about an hour before kickoff. “We’re really hoping that Christian’s gonna be back for the game,” attacking midfielder Brenden Aaronson told a group of reporters before Wednesday’s training session. “I don’t really know what’s going on in particular, but we know that he’s gonna give us his all to get back into the team and be there for the game. So we’ll see.” Pulisic contributed to the USA’s first two goals against Paraguay. He was dynamic and dangerous, showing the world that he’s in top form. He spoke with reporters following the match and was asked about his injury. “I’m really hoping that it’s nothing,” he said matter of factly at the time. Since then, the U.S. has been cautious with him. “We’ve still got a couple of days to see where he’s at and, you know, thankfully we’ve got a lot of boys on the bench who are eager and ready to get involved in helping the team and [we have] a lot of quality,” said fullback Antonee “Jedi” Robinson, who plays on the left side with Pulisic. Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter started the second half of the last match when Pulisic needed to come out at halftime. What will Pochettino do against Australia if he can’t play? There are several options depending on which way Pochettino wants to go, including Berhalter, Aaronson, Gio Reyna, Tim Weah or even Christian Roldan, who plays for the MLS club Seattle Sounders and will be anxious to get on the pitch in front of a home crowd. Pulisic, though, is irreplaceable. “Christian is a world-class player,” Weah said earlier this week. “Christian, for me, is top five wingers in the world. He’s one of my favorite players to watch. Being able to play alongside him for a long time has been amazing.” “It’s just the little things that he does,” Weah added. “I mean, he showed it against Paraguay. His ability and what he’s able to do on the ball is amazing for us, it helps the team, and for me, he’s one of the best players I’ve had the opportunity to play with. I’m super proud of him, and hopefully he’ll be ready for our next game.” Pulisic suffered an injury during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar while scoring the decisive goal in the final group stage match against Iran, which sent the Americans to the knockout round. Although he campaigned to play the second half, he went to the hospital instead to make sure he was okay. Pulisic is the face of the team and is highly motivated to help the United States make history at a home World Cup. He is the type of person who will be doing everything in his power to play on Friday. This isn’t an elimination game, but the U.S. wants to finish first in its group to potentially have a more favorable path in the knockout stage. But don’t be surprised if Pochettino plays it safe with his star – the matchup vs. Australia is expected to be physical and intense. In fact, the last time the teams met in October, Pulisic was forced off in the first half following a hard challenge. “It’s a long tournament,” Robinson said. “If we don’t have him back for the game, then you know we’re going to make sure we have him back for the rest of the way because we’re going to need him as we’re going to need everyone. Hopefully we have everyone available.”
