AC Milan forward Christian Pulisic has grabbed the headlines for all the wrong reasons after his performance during Team USA’s 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Belgium
In the Round of 16 encounter at the 2026 World Cup, Pulisic was substituted after 59 minutes due to a right ankle injury sustained in a collision with Belgium’s Youri Tielemans, ending his participation at the marquee tournament.
Carli Lloyd Piles On Christian Pulisic After USMNT’s World Cup Exit
Pulisic’s comments during his postgame news conference after the Round of 16 exit about finally getting to rest rubbed several Team USA fans the wrong way, and social media was ablaze with criticism for the talented forward.
“I just totally twisted my ankle and my knee in one play,” Pulisic said. “I mean, whatever. I have time to rest. It’s just an unfortunate way to finish.”
On Tuesday, July 7, USWNT legend Carli Lloyd slammed Pulisic’s comments in a scathing post on X.
“You rest when your playing career is over. Period,” Lloyd wrote.
Ultimately, Pulisic finished Team USA’s World Cup campaign with one assist in four games. In an injury-interrupted season, he managed eight goals and four assists in 18 games for AC Milan.
Landon Donovan Blasts Pulisic’s World Cup Showing
During Tuesday’s segment of the “Unfiltered Soccer” podcast, USMNT legend Landon Donovan heavily criticized Pulisic’s performances at the World Cup and his meekness at being allowed to be substituted off.
“I’m starting to look back, and it’s more than just a trend now. It is. When the games are easy, and it’s a home qualifier, and it’s Jamaica, yes. But in the big moments and the big games, he just hasn’t… I’m just saying it factually. He is who he is at this point,” Donovan said.
“This was a game where you needed him to go, ‘Give me the ball, I’m gonna stick it in the back of the net, it’s 2-2, let’s go.’ And he just didn’t. And he wasn’t even close to it,” he added.
“You would have had to [expletive] drag me off the field. And I would have punched the doctor in the face and said, ‘You’re not taking me off the field. Put whatever you need to put in me, and I’m staying on the field.'”
While Pulisic, AKA ‘Captain America,’ was expected to be Team USA’s go-to offensive weapon during the World Cup, AS Monaco forward Folarin Balogun turned out to be the most reliable attacker in coach Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
