Christian Pulisic, the US soccer team's star player, is leading the team into the World Cup with high expectations. With a decade of international success with club and country, Pulisic is hoping to propel a middling soccer nation to new heights on home soil. The US team will face Paraguay in their opening matchup, a team that qualified for its first World Cup since 2010 with strong defensive organization and potent counterattacks.
United States' Christian Pulisic attends a training session ahead of his FIFA World Cup match against Paraguay at its World Cup soccer tournament training base in Irvine, California, Thursday, June 11, 2026.
Only a handful of prominent 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. For leadership and goals, hoping his 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.
' Germany midfielder Aleksandar Pavlović, left, tackles the ball from United States forward Christian Pulisic during the first half of an international friendly soccer match in Chicago, Saturday, June 6, 2026. United States' Weston McKennie, center, and teammates attend a training session ahead of their FIFA World Cup match against Paraguay at its World Cup soccer tournament training base in Irvine, California, Thursday, June 11, 2026.
United States goalkeeper Chris Brady practices during a training session ahead of his FIFA World Cup match against Paraguay at its World Cup soccer tournament training base in Irvine, California, Thursday, June 11, 2026. United States' Joe Scally, center, Antonee Robinson, center right, and teammates attend a training session ahead of their FIFA World Cup match against Paraguay at its World Cup soccer tournament training base in Irvine, California, Thursday, June 11, 2026.
Now 27 years old, Pulisic has enough achievement and enough faith in his teammates to focus on how far the Americans can go, not how far they might fall.
'I don't feel a difference in weight,' Pulisic said at the U.S. training base in Orange County. 'I'm not sure. Maybe less. I just feel like there's so many good players around me.
I genuinely don't feel like I have to do anything on my own. I'm going to give it the best I can. I want to help the team, and they expect a lot out of me, but with the guys I have around me, it makes it a lot easier for me.
' Pulisic was already the center of the U.S. hopes and aspirations when this World Cup was awarded to North America eight years ago, and his status hasn't changed. A nation that had struggled to produce elite players finally created a star in this slick, creative midfielder from Hershey, Pennsylvania, who has gone on to a decade of European club success.
National team progress has been more difficult to come by during Pulisic's first decade, but he is still considered the most consistently dynamic player in the American program - despite his 18-month goal drought in a U.S. shirt that only ended May 31. Adams, the 27-year-old Bournemouth midfielder, has been right alongside Pulisic for most of this ride. He watched in awe as the 17-year-old Pulisic made his senior U.S. debut in late 2016.
Those Americans failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, but Pulisic quickly became a vital component of the group.
'Pulisic was the best player on the field at 17 years old, and the person that they rely on, (and) it's been since then that they've relied on him,' Adams said. 'Now, we have weapons around him to kind of relieve that, but he's a star. Not just for the U.S. national team, but in world football. He's that good.
We rely on him in big moments, but that being said, I hope he doesn't feel the pressure to carry it all. Just to be himself and grow into each game.
' Pulisic finally made his World Cup debut four years ago in Qatar, contributing a vital goal and an assist. But the U.S. team was eliminated in the round of 16. Now, with the World Cup on home soil, Pulisic knows the Americans must step up quickly at home - and their opening matchup is far from a pushover.
Paraguay qualified for its first World Cup since 2010 with strong defensive organization, potent counterattacks and a promising new generation of players leading the way. The U.S. team will need to be sharp and focused if they are to overcome Paraguay's defensive solidity and potent counterattacks. Pulisic and his teammates will need to be at their best if they are to make a strong start to the tournament and propel the American soccer nation to new heights
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