IRVINE, Calif. — Christian Pulisic is the most accomplished and most famous player on his national team at the exact time when his country is hosting a World Cup.
Only a handful of prominent soccer players in the past few decades have faced this confluence of talent and timing. They include a selection of generational greats: Zinedine Zidane for France in 1998, Michael Ballack for Germany in 2006, Neymar for Brazil in 2014.
Pulisic’s teammates recognize the extraordinary burden he is carrying while the United States prepare for its World Cup opener Friday night against Paraguay. From the field to the back row of the stands, everyone is looking to Pulisic for leadership and goals, hoping the veteran midfielder’s full decade of international success with club and country will propel a middling soccer nation to new heights on home soil.
“I can’t even imagine the weight that’s on his shoulders,” teammate Tyler Adams said. “From such a young age, he was the hope of American soccer.”
Pulisic does not shy from the spotlight that will glare more brightly than ever in the next few weeks. In fact, he repeated Thursday that this challenge is “what I’ve always wanted.”