When picking through the bones of the USMNT's weekend in hell during the conclusion of the CONCACAF Nations League, scrutinizing captain Christian Pulisic's performance would seem to be way down the list of problems. He's the US's best player, they can't do much without him, etc. But in the times we live, killing what you love is the modus operandi. When the US scores just one goal over two games and doesn't create that many more chances, perhaps it is best to look at who is supposed to be the chief creator.
Going through the attacking systems of the games against Panama and Canada, it was obvious that Mauricio Pochettino wanted two things. One was getting Pulisic into the middle, and running just about everything through him. Against Panama, Yunus Musah pushing so high from his right-back spot was meant to push Pulisic inside into a dual No. 10 role alongside Weston McKennie. Against Canada, sticking more to a 4-2-3-1, Pulisic was the sole No. 10 with Diego Luna playing on the right of the "3."
It's not hard to see the math. Pulisic is still the US's best attacking player, putting him in the middle should, in theory, get him the ball more with access to the whole field to create. But soccer games aren't played in vacuums, whatever my Football Manager record may suggest (I'm still living off getting Peterborough United into the UEFA Cup in the original version).
Except it doesn't work. Against Canada, Pulisic had just 21 touches. He barely completed half his passes. He didn't create any chances. The numbers weren't much better against Panama, where he only had one shot and only created chances off corners.
The USMNT can't pin all their hopes to Christian Pulisic
The problem is that Pulisic is not really a No, 10. He doesn't play in the middle for Milan. He didn't play in the middle at Chelsea. Same story for his breakthrough at Dortmund. He's always been a wide attacker who can flash into the middle from time to time. Asking him to play an entire match from a spot he's supposed to pop up in and thread the kind of passes he just doesn't normally is asking far too much. It's one thing to drive into the lane and finish at the rim than it is to post up, as it were.
When studying where Pulisic gets his touches for Milan and the passes he makes, there is a pretty clear "U" pattern around the opponent's box. When he does get touches in the middle, the passes he makes from there are usually sideways or backwards. His chance creation comes from the wide part of the box or outside of it. His best work is when he gets more space, which is what he finds out wide. His main strength is finishing off from there, which isn't unlike McKennie's strength. Strange that an attack built on two players who want to get on the end of attacks didn't really create attacks against Panama, isn't it? What he's not doing regularly is getting the ball with his back to goal a lot, or on the half-turn, and threading through balls to his #9.
It was strange on Sunday to see Luna, who plays full-time as a No. 10 with RSL, switched out to the wider attacking role for Pulisic, who plays full-time as a wide attacker. The US's lone goal of the weekend came when Luna went rogue and played himself through the middle, running from the No. 10 spot into the box to set up Patrick Agyemang. It was the kind of 1-2 and running from the No. 10 spot that Pulisic just didn't provide. Which is understandable, as it's not something he's asked to do much at Milan.
Pulisic carries something of an unfair burden as the US's best player and the billing he's had since he was 17. Thanks to various marketing campaigns and the general putridness of the USMNT that he debuted for back in 2017, he's been seen as a savior and the face of the "new generation." Sure, he's garnered the biggest transfer fees in American soccer history and was on a Champions League winning team. That can distort a view of him.
But at the end of the day, Pulisic isn't the unquestioned engine of Milan, just like he wasn't at Chelsea, just like he wasn't at Dortmund. And that's fine! Being a very useful or key player at one of Italy's biggest club is certainly a thing. Being on equal footing or so with Rafael Leão, who basically won a Scudetto on his own for Milan in 2022, is a good place to be. Pulisic fills a role for Milan, a big one, but he's not what they're building around or what opponents are planning their defense around.
The USMNT, their fans, and their sponsors, have been screaming out for a player who not only plays on a legendary European club, but is the pivot point for them as well. So much so that anyone who even hints at it suddenly has that label tossed around their neck, no matter what the reality actually is. Pulisic is the latest and has carried it the most.
Pulisic is a really good player. He might still have his best days ahead of him. But he fills a role at Milan, and he does it well. Perhaps it would be wise if Pochettino and US Soccer as a whole asks him merely to do that for the national team.