One month from the opening game. One question that will not go away.
Christian Pulisic is on the cover of the May 25 issue of Time, which goes on sale on May 15. It is the highest-profile mainstream media moment of his career, the face of a home World Cup, the symbol of American soccer's biggest stage in a generation. He earned that cover. Nobody questions why he is on it.
Here is the other thing that is true: in his last USMNT appearance, against Portugal in March, ESPN rated him 3 out of 10. He was played as a striker, looked frustrated from the opening whistle, picked up a yellow card for unnecessary fouling, and was substituted at halftime. He has not scored for the United States in eight consecutive matches, a career-worst drought. He has not scored for AC Milan since December 28.
Both of those things are true at the same time. Figuring out which one matters more is the central question of the USMNT's World Cup.
The Case He Is a Difference Maker
Start with Iran. November 29, 2022. A must-win game at the World Cup, and Pulisic scored the only goal of the match in the 38th minute, crashing into the goalkeeper and collapsing in immediate pain, stretchered off, taken to hospital, and diagnosed with a pelvic contusion. He watched the end of the game from a hospital bed and posted on Snapchat that he would be ready for the next one. He was. FOX Sports called it the biggest USA goal in 12 years.
That moment is not a fluke. It is a pattern. Pulisic has 32 international goals, third all-time in USMNT history, trailing only Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, who each scored 57. He became the fastest American ever to reach 50 goal contributions. At the 2022 World Cup, he won two Man of the Match awards, the same number as Kylian Mbappe and one fewer than Lionel Messi. He is not a player who shrinks from the moment. He is a player who has made the moment before.
His current Serie A season has not been the disaster the headlines suggest either. The scoring drought is real, but his overall season body of work still includes solid production and regular involvement in AC Milan's attack. Even while the goals have dried up, he has remained central to how Milan create chances.
And Pochettino has built the system around him. The plan, fluid positional play, Pulisic given freedom inside from a wide position, Balogun as the central striker pulling defenders to create space, is explicitly designed to get the best out of him. When Pochettino says this is about "creating chaos in the opponent, but with organization," Pulisic is the chaos he has in mind.
He said it himself: "I can sit in my bed at night and picture holding up the World Cup trophy. I did that as a kid. Why not?" This is not a man who lacks belief.
The Case He Is a Passenger
Eight USMNT matches without a goal. More than four months without a club goal. And the most recent evidence, hooked at halftime against Portugal and rated 3 out of 10, is not old news. That was March 2026. The World Cup opens June 12.
AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri's assessment has followed Pulisic into this tournament window: "He is a very sensitive player, and not scoring affects him more, as he struggles more in physical duels." That is a coach saying, diplomatically, that his player's confidence is fragile and that when the drought extends, it compounds. The mental weight becomes physical.
Allegri was not alone. Sports Illustrated ran the headline: "Sensitive - USMNT's Pulisic Hits Career-Worst Form Ahead of World Cup." Multiple analysts have noted that what separates Pulisic from the truly world-class is that his slumps hit harder and last longer. The very best players have bad weeks. They do not have bad months.
And there is a harder question underneath all of this. In 2022, when the US met a genuinely elite team, the Netherlands in the Round of 16, they lost 3-1 and went home. Pulisic assisted the Haji Wright goal but could not impose himself enough to change the outcome. The question of whether he can drag the US past a top-10 nation when the tournament is on the line is still, in 2026, unanswered.
Now add the timing: as of May 10, he was ruled out of Milan's match against Atalanta with a gluteal muscle strain. If that injury lingers, it threatens his availability for the pre-tournament friendlies against Senegal on May 31 and Germany on June 6. If it is worse than expected, it becomes a red flag for June 12 itself. Pulisic has a history of physical setbacks at the worst times. This is not new territory. It is a recurring concern.
When asked about the goal drought, his response was: "Such bad questions. I'm not concerned about it, man." That confidence either means he genuinely is not worried, or it means he is not engaging with something he needs to confront.
What Pochettino Needs From Him
Pochettino has kept the faith publicly, but he also delivered a pointed warning earlier this year: "No one can feel safe, even the names that you say: Pulisic or Tyler Adams." That is a coach leaving the door open. He has not slammed it shut on Pulisic, but he has made clear the door exists.
The experiment of playing Pulisic as a central striker against Portugal failed. The pattern has been pretty clear: Pulisic is at his best playing wider, cutting inside, with a striker ahead of him to pin the defense. Balogun in that role gives him the space he needs. When he is asked to be the nine, he is asked to do something he is not built for, and the results show it.
If Pochettino gets the system right, and there is every reason to believe he will, given the months of preparation, Pulisic in his natural role against Paraguay on June 12 looks very different from Pulisic-as-striker against Portugal in March. The conditions matter.
The Verdict
Both things are true. He is the most important player on this team, and he is entering the tournament in the worst form of his international career.
But here is what I keep coming back to: the Iran goal did not happen because conditions were perfect. It happened in a must-win match, under maximum pressure, at physical cost. Pulisic did not wait for a comfortable moment. He made the uncomfortable moment his.
The US needs that version of him. Not the frustrated, hooked-at-halftime version from March, the player who crashed into a goalkeeper and got up off a hospital bed to play again. That player is still in there. The tournament starts June 12. He has one month to find him.
The USMNT opens World Cup play against Paraguay on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Before that: friendlies against Senegal on May 31 and Germany on June 6. Pochettino names his 26-man roster on May 26.
Follow the USMNT's World Cup journey and make your picks at Crystal Ball Picks. And check out our full Group D breakdown for more on what the US is up against.
