Mauricio Pochettino Aims Subtle Dig at Christian Pulisic Ahead of 2026 World Cup
Mauricio Pochettino made sure to reiterate that the U.S. men’s national team is bigger and “more important” than any one player ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Stars and Stripes’ manager did not call out Christian Pulisic by name, but his bold statement only fueled recent controversy surrounding the AC Milan winger, who came under fire for his commitment to the USMNT.
Pulisic, along with a long list of the biggest American stars, skipped last summer’s Gold Cup, leaving Pochettino with a squad largely of MLS and other unproven players typically overlooked for the likes of the USMNT captain, Weston McKennie, Folarin Balogun and Antonee Robinson.
Although the team only managed a runners-up finish after falling 2–1 to Mexico in the final, the experience helped shape the culture Pochettino was intent on fostering with the national team.
“The badge, the federation, the flag is more important than any name, and I think we proved that if you have good players ... you can perform and maybe achieve what you want,” Pochettino said on the U.S. Soccer Podcast from the 2025 U.S. Soccer Summit.
“We had to face situations we never expected,” assistant manager Jesús Pérez added. “But that gave us opportunity to reveal things and to give opportunities to other [players] in different scenarios and now that’s the moment that ... makes the team feel that the badge is the most important.
“If you want to play for this team, you have to deserve to play.”
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Pulisic Aiming for Strong Return to the USMNT in March
After skipping the Gold Cup, Pulisic returned to the USMNT for the September international break. The 27-year-old struggled to have an impact in the team’s 2–0 defeat to South Korea, but then bounced back with an assist in the Stars and Stripes’ 2–0 win over Japan.
Fitness concerns limited Pulisic to only a cameo appearance off the bench against Ecuador during the October international break, before he was forced to withdraw against Australia due to a hamstring injury.
The captain recovered in time for the November window, but he made the decision to priortize his full recovery, with Pochettino and the USMNT’s support. The Stars and Stripes went on to defeat Paraguay and Uruguay in two statement victories.
With matches against Portugal and Belgium coming in March, Pulisic will hope to return with a bang to help the USMNT find its best form ahead of the 2026 World Cup on home soil. He will also no doubt be eager to finally silence the noise surrounding his commitment to the national team.
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