MARIETTA, Georgia – United States forward Christian Pulisic acknowledged that he experiences pressure as the home World Cup approaches, but he remarked, “it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
AC Milan forward Pulisic and the rest of the USMNT are gearing up for two friendly matches against Belgium on Saturday and then Portugal three days later. The U.S. squad will not regroup until May after head coach Mauricio Pochettino has finalized the World Cup roster.
– Can USMNT’s depth at the 2026 World Cup make a difference?
– Reyna felt ‘fortunate’ to get March USMNT call
– USMNT players reveal what ‘strict’ but ‘loving’ Pochettino is like behind the scenes
The U.S. will kick off the World Cup, which it is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, against Paraguay on June 12 in Inglewood, California.
“I mean, you guys [in the media] want me to feel the pressure, that’s for sure. There’s pressure. It’s a World Cup,” Pulisic stated during Friday’s press conference.
“It’s not due to my role in the team or anything. I’m accustomed to this. I wouldn’t want to be in any other situation. I feel fortunate, I feel privileged to be in this role. There’s pressure. I sense it.
“Yes. It’s present, but it’s nothing I can’t manage. I’m going to confront it directly. We are as a team. I don’t have to do it alone. That’s the beauty of it. I have teammates like [Weston McKennie], I have my entire team supporting me, the staff, a nation of fans, and I’m just going to give my best. That’s all I can do.”
Pulisic has long been the emblem of the USMNT, and there is hope that he will guide the U.S. team to a significant performance in this summer’s tournament. The farthest the U.S. has advanced in a men’s World Cup, since the inaugural tournament with 13 teams in 1930, was reaching the quarterfinals in 2022.
The 27-year-old indicated that such expectations do not unsettle him, particularly considering his experience with elite clubs like Chelsea and Milan, and having participated in a World Cup four years ago in Qatar.
“I would say at this stage in my career, it’s not much of a challenge for me. I’ve become quite accustomed to it. I’ve removed most social media from my phone. It’s fairly straightforward. I just try to steer clear of it. And there will always be pressures.
“I feel like people … Yes, you might perceive there to be more pressure than there actually is because you see it and read about it, and that’s your job. But honestly, I’m somewhat unaware of it.”
Pulisic added that he holds himself to high standards, and any pressure he experiences is a result of that.
“I place a lot of pressure on myself. We impose a lot of pressure on ourselves regarding how we want to perform, the effort we put in, we expect a lot from ourselves,” he explained. “And we try to concentrate on those aspects, what truly matters, the individuals who influence us directly. And that’s all we can really do.”
