Christian Pulisic: 'I don't regret' skipping Gold Cup, calls some criticism 'way out of line'
Christian Pulisic, speaking for the first time since opting to skip this summer's Gold Cup, said Thursday that he doesn't regret the decision, and called questions about his commitment to the U.S. men's national team "way out of line."
Pulisic, in an interview with CBS Sports Golazo's "Call It What You Want," also revealed that he "did want to be a part of" the USMNT's two pre-Gold Cup friendlies, and asked coaches to be included for those games against Türkiye and Switzerland. "And they said no, they only wanted one roster" for both the friendlies and the Gold Cup, Pulisic said. "I fully respect that. I didn't understand it, but it is what it is."
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As for why he didn't want to play in the Gold Cup, a biennial regional tournament, Pulisic said that, "toward the end of the season" with his Italian club AC Milan, "my body just started talking to me, and my mind. And I started to think, 'What is gonna be best for me leading into next year and going into the World Cup?' And was that to play eight more games, and then get no rest at all, go straight into preseason, and grind another season, and go straight into the World Cup?
"I had to make the best decision for myself, and also in the long run for my team," Pulisic continued, "even though clearly some people haven't seen it that way."
Christian Pulisic gave his first interview since opting to rest this summer, a decision that sparked fierce criticism and controversy, including from former USMNT players. (Photo by Fabrizio Carabelli/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(SOPA Images via Getty Images)
Pulisic addresses criticism from former USMNT players
The decision sparked fierce criticism from both fans and former players. Landon Donovan, perhaps the most famous player in program history until Pulisic came along, rekindled the controversy Sunday while watching Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal celebrate their UEFA Nations League title.
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"This is what it means to represent your country," Donovan said on the Fox broadcast. "[Ronaldo's] 40 years old. He's played a long-ass season. He's tired. He's out there grinding, hurt himself in the process. And I can't help but think about some of our guys on vacation, not wanting to play in the Gold Cup. It's pissing me off."
Those comments triggered a response from Pulisic's dad, Mark, who, in an Instagram post, cited Donovan's late-career break from soccer and told the USMNT legend to "look in the mirror + grow a pair." Christian Pulisic liked the post.
In Thursday's interview, Pulisic did not name Donovan, but seemed to implicitly address Donovan's comments. "You can talk about my performances, whatever you want," Pulisic said. "But to question my commitment, especially towards the national team, in my opinion, that's way out of line."
He later added: "I just don't understand why also so many people are so big on just wanting to give out these takes when they've been through tough moments themselves. I don't understand the idea of wanting to divide this fan base, and bring a negative light over it in any way. But we tend to do that a lot."
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Pulisic also admitted that, in general, the criticism from former players "is tough. You know, I looked up to those guys growing up. Some of these guys were my idols. I respect them so much as players."
He said that, privately, some of the former players talk to him "and clearly want to show support, and be your friend and everything. And then they say something slightly different publicly."
Pulisic said that he tries to "stay away from" the criticism. Other USMNT players have spoken about tuning out "noise." Tyler Adams told Yahoo Sports on Wednesday that "nothing seeps into my world."
On a soon-to-be-released podcast, though, former USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard revealed that Pulisic had reached out to him via Instagram, in response to some of Howard's public comments, to say: "I thought you were out of order, I didn't like what you said." (Howard said he gave Pulisic his phone number, and told Pulisic he could call to discuss further.)
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Criticism of the USMNT as a whole ratcheted up in March after losses to Panama and Canada. It crescendoed again this week after a pitiful 4-0 loss to Switzerland, the team's fourth straight defeat. One of the common takes, especially coming out of March, was that this so-called golden generation of players lacked necessary passion and desire to fight for their national team.
Pulisic, speaking Thursday, took exception with that line of criticism. "The only thing that does frustrate me is this narrative that people want to create that it's that we don't care, that it's a commitment [issue], and stuff like that," he said. "In my opinion, it can be a lazy take.
"We don't step out there and not give 100%," he continued. "It's not something that we do. We all want it so bad."
He concluded: "Just to say, always, 'these guys don't care, bring guys that have pride' — like, that's not really the answer, in my opinion. There's a lot more to a soccer game that you need to do to win than to care. And I think a lot of us care."
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Pulisic also stood up for some of his teammates, several of whom are also missing the Gold Cup. "I promise you," he said, after disappointing results at the 2024 Copa América and 2025 CONCACAF Nations League, "we don't just lose these things and move on. We're all pissed about it. Weston [McKennie], Tim [Weah], Yunus [Musah], all these guys ... they're competitors. I talk with these guys regularly. We're sick about it. We want to get back out and win in the biggest games, in the biggest tournaments, on the biggest stages."
Pulisic's communication with Pochettino
Pulisic also revealed that he's spoken to USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino only once about the summer and his decision.
"We had one phone call where we discussed everything," Pulisic said. "He understood where I was coming from. That's as much conversation as I've had with him. We haven't continued to talk."
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When asked by former USMNT forward Charlie Davies, one of the show's three co-hosts, about whether he'd expect more communication, Pulisic said he didn't "have an issue with it," but did acknowledge that Pochettino's approach to communication has been "slightly different with some of my other national coaches."
Pulisic: 'You guys will see ... I'm hungrier than ever'
Pulisic stood by the Gold Cup decision, in part because, already, after a couple weeks of rest, he's feeling "really good."
"I knew how I was feeling towards the end of last season. I was dealing with a couple small things that just kept lingering," he said. Some family time, and some Florida sun, were "just what the doctor ordered," he wrote on Instagram this week.
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"And I'm excited that I'm already gonna start getting back into training again this week and work on some things that I've really wanted to work on myself," he explained Thursday. "And I know it's going to put me in an amazing position leading into next season."
"You guys will see, man," he assured the show's co-hosts and viewers. "I'm hungrier than ever, truly. I'm really looking forward for big things to come."
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