NEW YORK – Talk about the US national team these days, and it’s only a matter of time before Christian Pulisic’s name pops up.
Tuesday was a case in point.
The US held a press conference in Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon ahead of Friday’s World Cup Qualifier with Costa Rica (6:30 pm ET | ESPN, Univision, UniMas), and the subject that came up most often was Pulisic. The 18-year-old midfielder has garnered much attention since making his international debut last year with his stellar performances for club and country, and his continued good form for his teams is only making the spotlight bigger and brighter.
Still, even as the outside noise and attention for Pulisic grow, the US remain focused on not trying to put too much pressure on the teen. Yes, he might have an increased role within the squad – as evidenced by his participation in Tuesday’s press conference in Manhattan – but that is just a natural part of the process.
“Right now he’s a very gifted player and we’re going to allow him the room to grow both as a player and a person, so he doesn’t have that much responsibility in that regard,” said US head coach Bruce Arena at the press conference. “Certainly because he’s an outstanding player there’s some responsibilities on and off the field that he has to assume and he’s done that, but I’m thankful we have such great leaders to take some of that pressure off.”
Pulisic, for his part, is doing what he can to stay focused on the task at hand. He has recently taken on bigger roles with the US and Borussia Dortmund, and is attempting to keep his sole attention on what happens on the field and not off of it.
“Of course I hear about all the stuff people talk about – this kid, there’s hype, whatever – but I just try to keep it out of my mind as much as I can,” said Pulisic. “It doesn’t really matter to me. I put a lot of pressure on myself. I don’t need all this outside attention or whatever like that, so I just try to do the best I can for myself and the people around me.”
Pulisic will be tasked with helping the Americans move one step closer to reaching the 2018 World Cup by trying to top Los Ticos in Friday. He enters the match in good form after scoring twice in the first three matches in all competitions of Borussia Dortmund’s campaign, and knows that he needs to translate that over to this game with the US.
“I think my biggest quality is just going out there and being creative, being dangerous, just always keeping the defenders on their toes,” said Pulisic. “That attacking style is what I go out and try to do. Just be unpredictable and going out there and doing whatever I can to help my team, normally on the offensive side of the ball but I have to handle my defensive responsibilities, too.”
