United States Men’s National Team star striker Christian Pulisic entered the 2026 FIFA World Cup with soaring expectations as the face of the team entering the World Cup in the prime of his career. However, it’s safe to say that the tournament did not go the way he had hoped.
Pulisic could not stay healthy throughout the tournament and had one of the worst performances of his international career in the high-profile match against Belgium before he had to be subbed off in the second half as a result of another injury. Now he’s facing criticism from some U.S. soccer legends.
Landon Donovan Blasts Pulisic
After Pulisic’s lackluster performance against Belgium, USMNT legend and Fox Sports analyst Landon Donovan questioned Pulisic’s ability to perform in big matches and criticized him for leaving Monday night’s match with an injury.
“I’m starting to look back and … it’s more than just a trend now. It is,” Donovan said Tuesday morning on his podcast Unfiltered Soccer. “Like, when the games are easy, and it’s a home qualifier, and it’s Jamaica, yes. But in the big moments and the big games, he just hasn’t. … I’m just saying it factually. He is who he is at this point.”
“This was a game where you needed him to go, ‘Give me the ball, I’m gonna stick it in the back of the net, it’s 2-2, let’s go.’ And he just didn’t. And he wasn’t even close to it,” Donovan said.
“And in fact … there’s reporting that he asked to get subbed out of the game. I can’t confirm that, so I don’t know if that’s true or not. But the reality is, he came out of a World Cup knockout game at home, with his leg still intact. Because … you would have had to [freaking] drag me off the field. And I would have punched the doctor in the face and said, ‘You’re not taking me off the field. Put whatever you need to put in me, and I’m staying on the field.’”
Donovan went on to criticize Pulisic for the way he’s performed after he chose to sit out the Gold Cup run with the team.
“He took the time off in the Gold Cup so that he would be ready for this season. And he would be fit and healthy and firing on all cylinders. And the reality is, he’s scored one goal since December,” Donovan said. “He’s not played well for the national team, not played well for Milan … and he’s been injured.”
Donovan went on to blast Pulisic for coming out of Monday night’s game has he claimed that he played on a torn hamstring in a 2010 match against Ghana.
“It’s just really hard for me to fathom,” Donovan said. “And again, he didn’t help himself with his post-match interview where he just said something like, ‘I just sprained my ankle, but now I have time to rest so it will be OK.’ And I’m just like … that’s not the way I would have approached it, but OK.”
Not Just Donovan
Donovan is not the only high-profile voice in the U.S. soccer space who has been critical of Pulisic, as United States Women’s National Team legend Carli Lloyd also expressed frustration at Pulisic’s performance.
“You wanted some of those big-time players to step up in big moments,” USWNT legend Carli Lloyd said after the loss. “And I gotta be honest, I was a bit disappointed with Christian Pulisic. Whether he wants to be the star of the team or not, we didn’t see enough from him in this particular game, and really the whole World Cup.”
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.