Christian Pulisic Cleared to Play in World Cup Finale After Calf Injury

Christian Pulisic is ready to rejoin the U.S. Men's National Team lineup for their World Cup match against Turkey, stating, "I'm feeling good." Pulisic, who missed the previous game against Australia due to a left calf injury, expressed his hope to "play a part" in the upcoming match. The exact number of minutes he will play remains to be determined, as he plans to discuss his participation with the coaching and medical staffs. Given that the U.S. has already secured the top spot in their group and Turkey has been eliminated, the match is considered a "dead rubber."

Pulisic indicated that he is unlikely to play the full 90 minutes. He reassured that he "never feared" the injury was severe. The forward sustained the injury during training prior to the USMNT's opening match against Paraguay, where he was substituted at halftime. He explained that he was kicked in the same calf that had been previously aggravated in training.

Despite the injury, Pulisic maintained confidence in his recovery, stating he was "really close to trying to be available for the last game." He noted that adrenaline allowed him to play through the first half of the Paraguay game, but he was not yet fully ready. The team's victory over Australia without him did not cause him to doubt his teammates.

"It was obviously a different set of emotions for sure, not being able to play," Pulisic said. "I enjoyed being on the sideline, being around the team, I wanted to be there. Still living that World Cup game. I couldn’t be happier and prouder of how the guys handled that whole situation. I had faith in them. I knew they would."

He also pushed back against the notion that he would lose sharpness after two weeks without game action, emphasizing his consistent training regimen. "Two weeks off sounds crazy. I haven’t been off," he stated. "I’ve been working every single day, a lot. No, I don’t think that’s enough time to lose sharpness. I’ve been touching the ball every single day and whatnot. I’m working a lot. So get a couple training sessions in, I’d say I feel ready.”