The genesis of a supposed Golden Generation of the United States men’s national team (USMNT) — a team that will get its moment at a home World Cup this summer — came on January 30, 2016, when a skinny kid from Hershey, Pennsylvania, trotted out onto a field in Dortmund, Germany.
At 17 years old, Christian Pulisic went from an unknown American prospect to a teenage superstar, a wiry and exciting winger who dribbled at opponents and created goals for a top club in Germany’s Bundesliga.
Americans had gone to Europe and succeeded before, but never at such a young age. Pulisic’s exploits — he produced three goals and one assist across all competitions that first season, then another five goals and 10 assists the next year — were not simply about his own achievements or ability on the field. He also opened the door for young U.S. players in a way nobody had before.
Pulisic’s success at Borussia Dortmund, and eventually his $73million (£54m at current exchange rates) sale to Chelsea, changed how European teams value emerging American talent and led to a rush around his compatriots — which eventually created the core of this USMNT.
Schalke signed a teenager from Texas named Weston McKennie. Bayern Munich made a move for Chris Richards. RB Leipzig added Tyler Adams. Paris Saint-Germain signed Tim Weah. Werder Bremen brought in Josh Sargent.
That those players swam and didn’t sink led to even more Americans moving abroad, from Brenden Aaronson to Ricardo Pepi, from Gio Reyna to Joe Scally and more.
Pulisic’s success showed that Americans could perform at higher levels of the game at younger ages.
“He’s a trailblazer,” former USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter told The Athletic in From Couva to Qatar: Remaking the U.S. Men’s National Team, a narrative podcast published before the 2022 World Cup.
“The fact that he’s played for a big, big club at a young age and got transferred for a ton of money at a young age, no American has done that. And that’s why he’s a special, special person. A special player. That’s new territory, when you’re getting transferred to Chelsea for €60million-plus. That’s big news anywhere. There wasn’t a ceiling on the value of the (American) player anymore.”
For all the debate around whether Pulisic has proved to be as big a star as he was built up to be, his role in American soccer is bigger than the goals he’s scored or created (87 goals and 61 assists across the German, English and Italian top-flights, well beyond any other U.S. player, for what it’s worth).
Where Christian Pulisic attempted take-ons
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7%
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Série A, 2025-26
And Pulisic’s success didn’t just change minds in Europe. It also influenced where his peers perceived their ceiling might be.
“He pushes us to be great,” Weah said. “Because you see what he does at club, you see what he’s done for us at the national team, he pushes us to be at a level that you know some wish to be.”
Even so, Pulisic’s standing in USMNT history will face no greater test than this summer’s World Cup. The U.S. team doesn’t typically go into a tournament with any sort of heavy expectation. This one does — and Pulisic will be expected to deliver as the sport’s most recognizable American name.
He comes into this tournament following a difficult run of form. He has yet to score in 2026, the worst dry spell of his career, which has some fans worrying about what he might produce at the World Cup.
Pulisic carries the weight of performing at this summer’s tournament with him. He isn’t just the team’s star player, he’s the one counted on to create and score goals in the biggest moments.
“He’s a big player, and when we need him most to show up in big moments, he delivers,” his former World Cup team-mate Kellyn Acosta said.
Christian Pulisic’s playing style
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Em comparação com pares em toda a Europa | Série A, 2025-26
Métricas derivadas do modelo de papéis dos jogadores do The Athletic.
Pulisic has typically shown up in the biggest moments for club and country. But his legacy as a national team player will revolve more around this World Cup than probably anything else, even his trailblazing in Europe.
The 27-year-old is keenly aware of those pressures. But he insists he is not running from them.
“I wouldn’t want to be in any other position,” Pulisic said in March. “I’m so lucky. I feel privileged to be in this position. There’s pressure. I feel it. Yes, it’s there, but it’s nothing that I can’t handle. I’m gonna attack it head on.
“We are (there) as a team. I don’t need to do it by myself. That’s the beauty of it. I have a whole team behind me, the staff, a country of fans, and I’m just going to do the best I can. That’s all I can do.”
Pulisic, like former USMNT star Landon Donovan, has a personality which sometimes means he absorbs those pressures and feels that weight. Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri said as much when commenting earlier this season that Pulisic was “a very sensitive man and this drought is hitting him harder”.
Pochettino, too, has tried to deflect some of those external forces.
“What he needs is people to treat him in a natural way,” the Argentinian said in March. “He’s a really normal guy.”
But, for all that the U.S. will try to aid him, it will be up to Pulisic to find a way through. A decade on from when he stepped onto the field as a teenager, playing free and with the pressure of a country not yet on his shoulders, Pulisic will have to find a way to tap into that energy again.
“This is exactly where I want to be,” Pulisic said on The Cooligans podcast in May. “You can criticize, scrutinize me all you want. I love what I do and I am just going to keep pushing to be better. And when it’s all said and done, you can look back and see what I’ve done in my career and I hope that I can leave happy with no regrets.”
