The United States Men’s National Team Mt. Rushmore has three obvious members- Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard. The fourth remains to be seen, and it is definitely up for debate. It won’t be Christian Pulisic however. Television broadcasters and brand marketers were desperate to make someone the face of US Soccer, and that someone was Christian Pulisic. It’s not that he’s a bad player, it’s just that he’s a very overrated player. FOX had to boost up someone as an individual star, and now Captain America is just way more sizzle than steak.
Either Pulisic was never quite truly 100% healthy or
He’s nowhere near as good as the broadcasters and marketers make him out to be.It’s got to be one of those two.
— Paul M. Banks (@PaulMBanks) July 7, 2026
Christian Pulisic Will Never be the USMNT G.O.A.T.
Actually, you can’t call him Capt. America anymore. If he was Captain America, he would have played in the Gold Cup last summer. Corpoate brands need a USMNT player to be a face on their products, and now, here in 2026, Pulisic accomplished more as a product endorser than he did as a footballer.
He was disaster class last night, and that was evident before he got injured. And even before he suffered an injury severe enough to force his exit, it was clear that he wasn’t fully fit. The eleven times Christian Pulisic lost possession conveys just how off he was in Seattle on Monday night.
Pulisic had one great half, in the opener, and then a very subpar tournament from that point onward. That’s a shame considering how he missed the Gold Cup, and some of the other USMNT matches, with the expressed aim of being 100% fully right for the World Cup. So much for that, as he only had 248 minutes played in the tournament, out of a possible 515.
His form isn’t good when he’s so-called fit, and he’s just not reliably match fit enough.
Also, his poor tournament was not a one-off, as his club form at AC Milan this past season left a lot to be desired.
His second half of the season output at Milan was dreadful. It is not the fault of Christian Pulisic that his hype is the level it’s at. It is fault of Christian Pulisic that his goal contributions are way lower than what people with his paygrade typically produce.
However, it was clear when he left Chelsea that he actually wasn’t going to live up to the hype.
You can honestly ask yourself, right now, do you want him on the plane going to Spain/Portugal for the 2030 World Cup.
Other Mandatory Roster Changes
The future of the USMNT is Folarin Balogun, their leading scorer at this tournament, and Malik Tillman. The former for obvious reasons, the latter, well he became the second player on record (since 1966) to score two direct free kicks in a single World Cup, after France’s Bernard Genghini first accomplished the feat in 1982. Tillman was also the first USMNT player to score in consecutive World Cup knockout stage matches.
Jedi Robinson, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Chris Richards all bring consistent quality too. Alex Freeman has potential too.
Gio Reyna and Sergino Dest had massive potential once too, but like Pulisic, they are just not that dude. Yunus Musah was also once exceedingly hyped, and he didn’t even make the tournament squad.
Richards is aging, and the central defense situation other than him is alarming. Tim Ream should have never made the team, and the USMNT badly need a non-Major League Soccer goalkeeper.
MLS is still kind of a glorifed retirement home for European superstars meets Ponzi scheme for franchise expansion kind of league.
The Matt Freese howler, with Ream too inept to stop disaster last night, the play that put the nail in the coffin was both symbolic and shambolic.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.