Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup 2026 – United States Training – Great Park Sports Complex, Irvine, California, U.S. – June 23, 2026 Christian Pulisic of the U.S. during training IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Kiyoshi Mio
USMNT star forward Christian Pulisic told reporters that he is available for Thursday’s Group D finale against Turkiye in Los Angeles.
Pulisic missed the Americans’ 2-0 win over Australia after a calf issue was exacerbated by a knock suffered in the first half of their World Cup opener on June 12 against Paraguay. He was subbed off at halftime.
With two wins in the first two matches, head coach Mauricio Pochettino has the luxury of not having to rush Pulisic back into the side. The USMNT has already clinched the top spot in Group D, rendering Thursday’s finale useless for qualification hopes, though it’s important to ensure its momentum continues to roll.
The Americans will undoubtedly need Pulisic to keep their hopes of a deep run in the World Cup alive, and keeping him on the shelf until the start of the Round of 32 on July 1 provides another week to ensure that he is as close to 100% as possible. So there is some risk in playing him against Turkiye.
The 27-year-old was the key contributor to the USMNT’s first two goals against Paraguay in the opener. He split a pair of defensemen down the left wing and played the penultimate ball into the box to Weston McKennie before his attempted centering feed was knocked into the back of the net by an own goal. His perfect cross was then converted by Folarin Balogun to make it 2-0 — the first of Balogun’s two goals in the 4-1 victory.
Without Pulisic in the lineup against Australia, Pochettino opted to play a second striker up top, pairing Ricardo Pepi with Balogun, and fielding a five-man midfield of Antonee Robinson, Malik Tillman, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, and Sergino Dest.
Should Pulisic start against Turkiye, expect the US to convert back to a 4-1-2-3 formation. Balogun would return to a central striking role while being flanked by Pulisic and Dest on the wings. McKennie and Tillman would provide attacking support in the midfield with Tyler Adams in a holding role in front of a four-man back line.
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