Why Christian Pulisic Isn’t Playing for the USMNT vs. Peru—International Friendly

The talisman of the U.S. men’s national team was absent from the roster sheet.

The USMNT talisman was not named to the fall international camp. | Shaun Clark/ISI Photos/Getty Images

The U.S. men’s national team’s most recognizable star, Christian Pulisic, will not take the pitch in Orlando on Saturday against Peru, despite playing at the World Cup just a few months ago.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino opted not to select “Captain America” to his 28-player squad for the expanded, two-week September–October international window, meaning Pulisic will also be absent for the following three friendlies against Chile, Mexico and Canada.

The 28-year-old healthy forward, who is regarded as one of the greatest players in U.S. Soccer history and boasts the most caps (90) and goals (33) of any active USMNT player, will be forced to watch his fellow Americans from the couch. But, why?

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Future Over Present, Present Over Past

Mauricio Pochettino’s looking forward to the next four years with the USMNT. | Jane Gershovich/ISI Photo/Getty Images

In the wake of the 2026 home World Cup, Pochettino has consistently proclaimed the need for a “fresh start” for the USMNT.

Although the Stars and Stripes had a dreamy run into the knockout stages, they ultimately crashed out in humiliating fashion to Belgium in the round of 16, the same stage that has bested them for the last several editions of the tournament. Something bolder is needed to finally turn this team into champions, and Pochettino has four years to figure out exactly what it is.

What he knows for certain, though, is that Pulisic is not the solution, at least not right now. He said a lot without saying hardly anything at all.

“After the World Cup, we started to change and to see and to analyze for the players, potential players for this camp,” Pochettino said with regard to Pulisic, upon announcing his fall roster.

“Like always, I say, I think the 28 players that are going to be involved in these four games, for different circumstances, are the best players, or the players that we want to see, the ones to play that we want to work [with] and that’s it.”

For Pochettino, there is no value in what a player has done in the past. There is only value in how they are currently performing on the pitch and the potential they have for the future. Pulisic may have done his fair share in the past—helping establish an American identity in European soccer and starring in the 2022 World Cup, to name a few—but his current displays have been inconsistent at best, which yields nothing but uncertainty for his future.

“Everyone says, ‘Oh, that name needs to be here because in the past, their performance could also go like this,’” Pochettino later said. “No, no, now it’s a fresh start. It’s a new start. Of course, all [players] have the door open, but now it’s not what [he] did in the past. [There is] no ‘I am [Folarin] Balogun and score lots of goals.’ No ‘I am Malik Tillman and was one of the best in the World Cup.’”

Pulisic had just 45 minutes of dominant play this summer, walking away with more injuries (two) than goal contributions (one). It was a tournament at which he desperately needed to succeed, entering the global affair off a career-worst end to his club season this spring. He went 19 straight games without a goal for AC Milan dating back to 2025.

The American then returned to the Serie A club this fall to discover his starting position had been snatched. Although technically healthy again, he remained an unused substitute for the first three matches of the new season and was a second-half reinforcement for the following two.

He finally cracked the starting lineup for Milan’s latest match, a 3–0 victory over Lecce. He put on an emphatic display and even scored his side’s first goal; however, it remains to be seen if Pulisic keeps his place in the starting XI or can even continue performing at that level. Recent history suggests that last week’s success may prove to be another one-off showing.

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Who Could Replace Pulisic?

Cavan Sullivan (right) is an exciting addition to Pochettino’s roster, | Taylor Banner/USSF/Getty Images

Pulisic isn’t the only World Cup star that Pochettino excluded from his fall roster, seeing the absences of striker Folarin Balogun and midfielder Weston McKennie as well. Only 13 players from the tournament squad received a fall call-up.

Pochettino is much more interested in the youth prospects that could prove integral to the senior squad come 2030. He selected 12 newcomers, including eight teenagers, for the camp.

One teenager in particular is heralded as the successor to Pulisic: Cavan Sullivan. The 16-year-old prodigy is also a winger and stands to make his debut for the USMNT even earlier than a 17-year-old Pulisic did back in 2016.

Sullivan has swiftly risen to stardom over the past few months for his success with MLS side Philadelphia Union. He has racked up six goals and eight assists in the last eight matches alone, breaking several league records in the process. The Union are now undefeated in the last 11 consecutive MLS matches, due in no small part to Sullivan’s brilliance.

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