Christian Pulisic asked the U.S. Soccer Federation to not play for the USMNT in the Gold Cup this summer and his wish was granted.
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Pulisic was not named to Mauricio Pochettino’s roster ahead of the 2025 Gold Cup, as the AC Milan superstar will not feature for the USMNT in friendlies against Turkey and Switzerland in June and in the Gold Cup tournament in the USA this summer.
Fox Sports’ Doug McIntyre revealed the details, as U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker confirmed why Pulisic was left out of Mauricio Pochettino’s training camp roster ahead of the Gold Cup.
Christian Pulisic statement
Statement from U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker on #USMNT’s Christian Pulisic missing the Gold Cup: pic.twitter.com/pzWtw0AOZT
— Doug McIntyre (@ByDougMcIntyre) May 22, 2025
Understandable but unfortunate
Christian Pulisic has played a lot of minutes in recent years and has never turned down the call from the USMNT before.
This summer seemed like the right time for him to do that, especially given his injury history. But the timing is still unfortunate.
Pochettino knows that Pulisic will be a starter in the 2026 World Cup next summer and if he’s asking for time off then he should be listened to.
But it’s also true that the USMNT have very limited opportunities to build team chemistry and cohesion between now and next summer when they play in a World Cup on home soil.
Pulisic will be a key part of that tournament for the USMNT and we will learn anything about him this summer in the Gold Cup? Nope. But it would sure help to have him around this summer to help Pochettino’s project.
Not having his star playmaker around this summer is tough timing for Pochettino as he really needs to win the Gold Cup to build momentum and positive vibes at the start of a pivotal 12 months for himself and the national team. But the USMNT needs a fit and rested Pulisic if they have any hopes of doing something big next summer. This is the right call.
