FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — In a career-worst scoreless slump, U.S. men’s national soccer team mainstay Christian Pulisic is confident goals will come for him at the World Cup, which the Americans will co-host with Canada and Mexico starting next month.
“I’ve had this happen before in my career,” he said Saturday, a day before the U.S. was set to face Senegal in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the Americans’ next-to-last warmup match for the 48-team tournament. “There’s difficult times, and then sometimes one will bounce off your knee and go in, and then it seems like everything goes in after that.”
Pulisic had 10 goals in his first 15 matches this season for his pro club, Italy’s AC Milan, but went scoreless in 19 games after Dec. 28. He has has gone eight U.S. matches without a goal since November 2024.
“He is going to score in World Cup. Yes, I really trust in that,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said. “He has very good attitude, very good commitment. He’s trying so hard to get his best level, and I think he will achieve it for sure.”
A 27-year-old attacker from Hershey, Pennsylvania, Pulisic has 32 goals in 84 international appearances. His goal in the 1-0 win over Iran at the 2022 World Cup advanced the Americans to the round of 16 in Qatar.