SEATTLE (AP) — U.S. forward Christian Pulisic could only watch from the bench as Belgium canceled out his team’s game. world cup The American star ended the tournament hampered by injuries and barely playing at his best.
Pulisic, America’s most accomplished striker, failed to score in his second World Cup. He has scored 33 goals in 90 international appearances, but has only scored once in eight World Cup matches, against Iran in the 2022 group stage.
Pulisic was injured for the second time in this World Cup and left midway through the second half. Monday’s game against Belgium was a 4-1 loss. He twisted his right ankle while attempting a shot in the 52nd minute, hitting the boot of Belgium captain Youri Tielemans.
After spending some time lying on the pitch, Pulisic began to prioritize his feet and was replaced by Sebastian Berhalter in the 59th minute with the United States leading 3-1.
Having to be ejected from the match was “difficult for me to deal with,” he said.
“I felt really good with the players this summer and I thought my level was high,” Pulisic said. “It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get to have any of the moments that we were looking forward to and trying to get through to get over that next step of beating a really good team.”
U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino said after the match that he hoped Pulisic’s injury was not serious and that he would be able to return to his club AC Milan. Normally, players get 21 days off after the World Cup before reporting to their clubs.
Pulisic was delayed during the group stage due to a calf injury. After a stellar first half in the first U.S. game, 4-1 victory He sat out for the rest of the match due to a stiff calf he injured during training against Paraguay.
He missed the U.S. team’s win over Australia and came on as a substitute in the team’s group stage loss to Turkey. Pulisic returned to the starting lineup for Americans 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32.
“I try to be positive,” he said Monday, adding, “I did a lot of good things and the team did good things as well.”
“He’s definitely going to bounce back,” American defender Alex Freeman said. “He’s a great player and someone who’s always going to fight.”
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AP Sports Writer Andrew Destin contributed to this report.
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See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
