There was a quiver in Christian Pulisic\u2019s voice as he answered the final question posed to him at the 2026 World Cup.<\/p>\n
On its face, the question was straightforward: how did the overall experience of this tournament meet his expectations? The subtext was overwhelming. For eight years, this World Cup<\/a> co-hosted by the United States has been viewed as the potential high-water mark of his career and those of his teammates. Every machination of American soccer has operated with signposts displaying \u201c2026\u201d in bold.<\/p>\n The first of his generation to emerge with the US men\u2019s national team, Pulisic became the face of the program. And when his team needed him most, down two goals an hour into a last-16 contest on Monday, Pulisic wasn\u2019t able to push his team back into contention. A clumsy connection with a Belgium opponent left him with twists in both his ankle and his knee, requiring a substitution.<\/p>\n In the wake of a humbling 4-1 defeat<\/a>, the 2026 World Cup was in his rearview.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, it exceeded expectations just with it being in America, with the fans, the support that we felt,\u201d Pulisic began before the words became harder to find. \u201cThe energy in the games, the way the guys fought and the time we were able to spend together as a group is what I\u2019ll take with me the most. So it was an awesome summer.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a sentiment that could double as a scrawl in a high school yearbook, but an awfully incomplete reflection on his role at this tournament. For 45 blistering minutes, in the opening match<\/a> against Paraguay, Pulisic seemed primed to make the most of his long-awaited star turn. Pulisic created two chances and one resulted in an assist. He completed four dribbles, made several timely tackles and won seven of his 10 duels.<\/p>\n Late in the half, Pulisic seemed to take an innocuous kick in the back of his leg that necessitated a half-time hook. After the match, Pulisicbacked himself to bounce back. That optimism persisted even as he missed the second group-stage game against Australia and came off the bench in the dead-rubber affair with Turkey.<\/p>\n Against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last 32, Pulisic played 88 minutes and led the team with three completed dribbles, but didn\u2019t have the same end product. His sole shot, attempted from just outside the box, was blocked before it could enter the mixer. None of his 23 completed passes led to a shot. Hoping to contribute a signature moment on home soil, he entered the last 16 desperate for that opportunity.<\/p>\n Since Mauricio Pochettino took over and other players have emerged, Pulisic hasn\u2019t needed to be the US\u2019s focal point as often as he was under previous coach Gregg Berhalter. Such as shift seemed it could make him even more effective, without opponents glomming on to his every action. Against Belgium on Monday, Pulisic reverted to some of his former force-things-to-work tendencies. Pulisic lost the ball on 14 occasions before exiting in the 59th minute, per ESPN FC, making him the most dispossessed player from either side.<\/p>\n