‘Sensitive’—USMNT’s Pulisic Hits Career-Worst Form Ahead of World Cup

The USMNT will need front man Christian Pulisic in top form to maintain any hope of a deep run this summer.

Christian Pulisic has not scored for AC Milan since December. | Timothy Rogers/Getty Images

If the U.S. men’s national team is to find any success at the 2026 World Cup, it needs to see a standout performance from its most influential player; however, “Captain America” Christian Pulisic is in the worst form of his career heading into the tournament. 

On Sunday, Pulisic was unable to find the back of the net for the 16th consecutive game with AC Milan, as the Rossoneri played to a scoreless draw against fellow Serie A titans Juventus and U.S. teammate Weston McKennie, who also could not find the scoresheet.

Exiting in the 60th minute of the match, Pulisic’s frustrations were evident.

“Christian is a very sensitive man, and this drought is hitting him harder,” Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri told DAZN post-match. “He is also someone who struggles more with the physicality of duels and the lack of a center forward, but I must try to give a balance to this team, as we have an objective to achieve.”

“I realize he is not entirely suited to this. I had asked him to play center-right tonight and [Rafael] Leao at center-left, so we were without a center-forward...Rest assured, by the end of the season, Pulisic will have given his contribution.”

Although the USMNT has employed a formation with a traditional center forward as of late, Pulisic’s run of form is still concerning. 16 games without a goal for Milan marks a record for the 27-year-old, matching his previous career-worst drought while playing for Chelsea in the 2022-23 Premier League season. In the national team picture, he has also failed to score in eight consecutive games, dating back to 2024. 

Now that Milan has dropped to third in the Serie A table, Pulisic will have just four games before the World Cup to regain form, having posted only a single assist despite regular starts during the 16-match stint that dates back to December.

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Pochettino, Dempsey Voice Support

Christian Pulisic (left) played several games in his early national team career with Clint Dempsey (right) | Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

While USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino places more importance on national team form than club form, the concerning factors surrounding Pulisic are not lost on the Argentine boss.

Pulisic offered two underwhelming performances in the March friendly losses to Belgium and Portugal, prompting Pochettino to indirectly say that Pulisic isn’t among the world’s top players.

“We are USA,” Pochettino quipped after the 2–0 loss to Portugal. “We are competing against Belgium and Portugal. I think for sure Belgium and Portugal have in the top 100 players, a few or some, players playing in that top 100. I think we don’t have. That is why it’s good to play against these types of teams.”

Yet, for Clint Dempsey, the talismanic former striker who is lauded as the best goalscorer in U.S. men’s soccer history, Pulisic’s struggles are not cause for concern.

“Obviously, if he ever wants to talk, it’s an open door for me, but he’s a top professional, and that’s what you go through. You go through these ups and downs,” Dempsey, the U.S. men’s joint all-time leading goalscorer, tells Sports Illustrated. “It’s a roller coaster, this game, and sometimes it can make you go crazy, but all you need sometimes is that assist or that next goal to get you back on a wave again.

“He has the quality of someone that can turn it on at any time.”

If Pulisic is able to hit his stride, it will immensely improve the USMNT’s chances at making a deep run on the grand stage this summer, as he would only elevate the recently-peaking forms of McKennie, Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi, among others.

The USMNT will unveil its World Cup roster on May 26 at an event in New York, before taking on pre-tournament friendlies against Germany and Senegal. It will compete in Group D action against Paraguay, Australia and Türkiye beginning June 12.

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