The American star is scoring goals for fun in Italy, which brings him to the U.S. with a different feeling than prior camps
For large stretches of his time at Chelsea, the U.S. men's national team was Christian Pulisic's escape. Times were tough at club level, but no matter how tough those times got, the USMNT welcomed him in with open arms. During the most frustrating periods, the USMNT was there to lift Pulisic up and give him the boost needed to go back to west London with something resembling confidence.
So often, Pulisic arrived at national-team camp needing those boosts. It must have felt like he was always playing catch-up, always out to prove that what was going on at his club wasn't impacting him. Because of that, it's fair to wonder if we haven't really seen the best version of Pulisic in a USMNT shirt. It's been a long time since he arrived in camp with spirits high and a bit of momentum to build-on.
Well, that's what we're getting now. Pulisic is tearing apart Serie A with AC Milan, having emerged as arguably the Rossoneri's best player this season. He's scoring at a ridiculous rate, providing big goals in big moments for one of the world's biggest clubs.
And now he arrives with the USMNT heading into another big moment. The CONCACAF Nations League finals are here, and with them the chance to make it three straight titles in the region. The Copa America looms, too, giving Pulisic another crack on the world's stage as the leader of the USMNT.
First up is this CONCACAF Nations League semifinal against Jamaica. And this match, as well as the final or third-place game after it, could very well give us a glimpse of what's to come from a fit, firing and confident Pulisic later this summer.
Getty ImagesGoing strong in Serie A
Anything would have been better than Chelsea. When it became clear that Pulisic was on the move this summer, USMNT fans were ready to celebrate. Wherever he went, it couldn't be as bad as Stamford Bridge, where he'd been so often glued to the bench amid the institutional chaos running wild in London.
Few could have predicted how perfectly this move to Milan would work out, though. As we head into the final stages of this debut season in Italy, Pulisic's decision looks like a masterstroke.
He has racked up 12 goals and eight assists in 39 appearances in all competitions so far this season. Those 12 goals are more than any single-season total he had at Chelsea, and there are still a few months to go for Pulisic to run up those numbers.
His best run, though, has come over the last few weeks as he heads into USMNT camp on a hot streak. He's scored in four consecutive matches, two of which came in a two-legged Europa League win over Slavia Prague. His other recent victims have been Verona and Empoli, with the latter losing to Milan 1-0 thanks to Pulisic's goal.
"I'm enjoying it a lot," Pulisic says of life in Serie A. "It's been a good change of pace for me. I'm loving the Italian culture. I'm trying to soak it in. I'm doing the best I can with learning the language. I feel pretty good with all that stuff. I'm loving it so far."
The stats say that Pulisic is playing better than he's ever been, and much of that comes down to comfort and confidence.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesLife in Italy
Pulisic's Italian is coming along, says club and international teammate Yunus Musah, but it's going to be a while before he catches up to the midfielder when it comes to his linguistic skills. You can't blame Pulisic for that, though, as Musah spent part of his childhood in Italy.
"He's working really hard on his Italian and he's managed to learn quite a bit," Musah admits, giving Pulisic a bit of credit. "He really understands the manager now and our teammates. It's going to take him a little while, though, to get on my level!"
Pulisic adds: "I understand just about everything. They asked me if I could do my interviews in Italian the other day. I said they could ask the questions but I'll answer in English, but next time. I'm getting close, but I'm still not fluent at all."
All jokes aside, Pulisic's transition to Italy has been seamless. It took him virtually no time to claim a starting spot under Stefano Pioli, and he is yet to relinquish it. Given his recent run of form, it doesn't seem like he plans on doing so any time soon, either.
Only Olivier Giroud has scored more goals than him this season for Milan, while Giroud and Rafael Leao are the only two players with more assists than the American winger. There's been no grace period for Pulisic, who jumped right into Italian soccer and found out he can swim immediately.
"I'm really, really happy with the way I see Christian playing at the moment," Musah said. "He's scoring a lot of goals, affecting play a lot for our team. I'd say he's been our best attacking player this season at Milan, so I'm really happy for him. He's doing so well. He's enjoying it, as well, and having one of his best seasons. I'm really happy to see a fellow American do such things."
Getty ImagesWatching from afar
For the last few weeks, American soccer has watched on as Pulisic has torn up all in his path. The USMNT coaches have, obviously, been keeping an eye on him too, and they've been having a great time doing so.
"Us as coaches, we sit back from afar and have to watch these guys play in Europe each weekend," said assistant coach B.J. Callaghan. "It's great to watch them all in form. Christian specifically, it's great to see the variety of goals, the variety of the ways that he's impacting his team at Milan. I think he's doing it with goals, with assists, I think he's doing it on the defensive end for them, as well. He's having a really complete season."
Overall, the U.S. heads into this camp with players in varying levels of form. Gio Reyna and Tyler Adams, for example, haven't played much at all this season, though for very different reasons. Folarin Balogun is the attacking player that can probably use a confidence boost this time around, while Matt Turner also needs a lift after being benched at Nottingham Forest.
There are no concerns about Pulisic, though, who looks more than ready to lead from the front.
"Anytime you see players in form, Christian included, it brings great joy to all of us," Callaghan said. "We know that when they come into camp, there's going to be a high confidence level. Hopefully they can continue to do that and raise the standard as we continue to try to raise the standard of the national team."
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GettyUSMNT veteran
It really is hard to believe that Pulisic is still only 25. He's still so young in the grand scheme of things, and that makes it feel like his USMNT career is really just getting started.
Pulisic, though, isn't the newcomer anymore. He hasn't been for quite a while. And, in this loaded CONCACAF Nations League squad, one that Gregg Berhalter said was among the deepest he's ever had with the program, Pulisic is the most-capped player.
"I've been so honored to be able to do this for a few years, but it never gets old," Pulisic says. Representing the USA, doing what I love, it's a blessing."
With 64 caps to his name, Pulisic is the most experienced player in this group. Tim Ream, 11 years his senior, is on his heels with 55, although there isn't really a scenario where the Fulham star ever catches up. Weston McKennie is there with 49 while Antonee Robinson is on 39, taking the third and fourth spots.
Pulisic is far and away the most experienced in the group, and is one of the few remaining who suffered through the heartbreak of the 2018 cycle. He was one of the key contributors that led to the USMNT's World Cup return in 2022. And, now on the road to 2026, he seems ready to take an even bigger step forward, if his club success is anything to go by.