Christian Pulisic Turns Heads with Reaction to Criticism Amid USMNT Absence
On Thursday, the United States Men's National Team made it official that head coach Mauricio Pochettino will be heading to the CONCACAF Gold Cup — the final major tournament before the United States co-hosts the 2026 World Cup — without team captain Christian Pulisic.
Advertisement
According to ESPN, Pulisic and his team proposed the break to the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) after Pulisic played more than 3,500 minutes in all competitions for AC Milan across the 2024-2025 season.
Fellow national team veterans Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah, Giovanni Reyna, Antonee Robinson and Yunus Musah are also missing after their respective European campaigns.
Since Pulisic's absence was first reported, criticism has been repeatedly aimed at the Yanks' No. 10, most recently from USMNT legend Landon Donovan on Sunday.
United States Men's National Team and AC Milan forward Christian Pulisic (10).Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
The Pulisic family did not take kindly to Donovan's veiled comments after 40-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo battled through injury to help Portugal win the UEFA Nations League — a continental trophy similar to the Gold Cup.
Advertisement
"This is what it means to represent your country,' Donovan said on Fox Sports' coverage of Portugal's win over Spain. '(Cristiano Ronaldo) is 40 years old. He played a long-(expletive) season. He was out there grinding and hurt himself in the process. And I can't help but think about some of our guys who are on vacation not wanting to play in Gold Cup. It's pissing me off.'
Pulisic's father, Mark, heard Donovan's criticism and clapped back Sunday night on Instagram.
"This guy is .. talking about commitment.. look in the mirror + grow a pair and call names out or are you afraid next time you want an interview you will get rejected again," he wrote in an Instagram post.
Advertisement
His son liked the post — the first public response of any kind from the American captain since his Gold Cup absence was first reported. USMNT fans sounded off with their thoughts on social media.
"This is getting spicy," wrote one fan on X. "I remember how awkward Pulisic and Donovan were speaking to each other last year. I just assumed they were both introverted but looks like something was already brewing in the background."
"This is reminiscent of Claudio Reyna coming to his son's defense," noted a response. "Circumstances are different but it is sad that this kind of drama follows our star USMNT players."
Advertisement
"Donovan helped the US make the quarterfinals of the World Cup," said one reply. "What has Pulisic won with the USMNT?"
"Why hasn't Pulisic said ANYTHING himself?" a fan said of the captain. "He's letting everyone else talk for him. It doesn't show any sense of leadership or responsibility."
Pulisic has 32 goals and 18 assists in 76 appearances for the United States, but he will not add to that total this summer.
After losing to Turkiye 2-1 on Saturday, USMNT plays another warm up friendly on Tuesday against Switzerland before beginning the Gold Cup on Sunday against Trinidad and Tobago.
Related: Mauricio Pochettino Makes Statement After USMNT Loss
Related: Christian Pulisic's Girlfriend Posts Photo He 'Did Not Approve'
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
20 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trey Hendrickson's mandatory fine for missing Bengals training camp is $50,000 per day
As Cincinnati Bengals training camp begins, so does a holdout by Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Hendrickson posted a photo from a Florida highway on Instagram as his teammates reported to camp. The Bengals are required to fine Hendrickson $50,000 for each day of camp he misses. In addition, any preseason or regular-season game he misses would result in $877,777 of salary lost, according to Spotrac. Hendrickson is under contract with the Bengals for another season, and would earn $16 million if there's no extension. The Pittsburgh Steelers recently gave defensive star TJ Watt a three-year, $123 million extension with $108M guaranteed. Hendrickson didn't win the AP Defensive Player of the Year award last season despite leading the NFL with 17.5 sacks. More from The Enquirer's Kelsey Conway via Twitter/X: This story was updated to add a gallery. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Trey Hendrickson's fine for missing Bengals training camp is $50K/day
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Lions LB Alex Anzalone 'crushed' conditioning test, not practicing as contract unresolved
Alex Anzalone is back with the Detroit Lions after staying away for the offseason, but the veteran linebacker is not on the practice field yet. Anzalone was one of three players not on the physically unable to perform list, along with linebacker Anthony Pittman and edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad, who did not take part in the first practice of training camp Sunday. Lions coach Dan Campbell said Anzalone "crushed" the Lions' conditioning test but is not practicing because of an unspecified injury. Anzalone did not take part in formal offseason workouts this spring and has hinted repeatedly at being unhappy with his contract on social media. He is due $6 million in base salary and has $100,000 total in per-game roster bonuses this fall, the final year on his current contract. Anzalone, who turns 31 in September and is underpaid by top linebacker standards, is a four-time team captain and one of the Lions' best and most important defensive players. He had 63 tackles and one sack last season despite missing seven games with a fractured forearm. LIONS INJURIES: Levi Onwuzurike out for season, Josh Paschal out into September Campbell noted Anzalone also stayed away from the team most of last offseason, when he only took part in mandatory minicamp — the Lions did not have a minicamp this spring — and said he does not believe Anzalone, who was not see at the public portion of practice, is in a "hold-in" situation. Rather than hold out and face daily fines, some NFL players unhappy with their contracts report to camp but do not take part in practice. "No way, right," Campbell said. "I refuse to believe that.' Asked about Anzalone's contract, Campbell said there is nothing "that I can really talk about." "He's here, reported, did great on the conditioning test, weight's good and ready to go," he said. With Anzalone out and Malcolm Rodriguez expected to miss the first half of the season recovering form a torn ACL, Zach Cunningham joined Jack Campbell and Derrick Barnes in playing linebacker Sunday with the first-team defense. Dave Birkett covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at dbirkett@ Follow him on Bluesky, X and Instagram at @davebirkett. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Alex Anzalone Lions contract update: LB returns but not practicing
Fox News
31 minutes ago
- Fox News
Angel Reese mocked for turnover spree in same game where she makes WNBA history
Angel Reese committed a game-leading nine turnovers in the Chicago Sky's blowout 91-68 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Tuesday night. The turnovers occurred the same night that Reese became the first player in WNBA history to record multiple streaks of 10 games with a double-double. With 11 points, 11 rebounds and nine turnovers, some users joked that Reese was on a "triple-double watch," late in the game. One of the turnovers occurred in the first quarter when Reese tried to simply hand the ball off to a teammate that was right next to her. Instead, Reese softly bounced the ball off her own teammate. The ball was quickly recovered by the Lynx and taken the other way. "Angel Reese doing Angel Reese things. She plays the game so Lazy. As a long time former Coach, it makes my skin crawl when players do that," one user wrote. Another user wrote, "It's like watching little kids try to do things they saw on TV." One of Reese's other turnovers came in the third quarter when she took too many steps without dribbling the ball, as she appeared to get her feet tangled up, and she was called for traveling. "Boy she traveled into the next city!" one user wrote. Another user wrote, "She got her own travel agent with all that traveling." The Sky ended up losing by 23 points and falling to 7-16, and they remain firmly in fifth place in the WNBA's Eastern Conference. Reese recently drew attention to herself at the WNBA All-Star game when she spoke out against the WNBA for its handling of recent negotiations with the player's union, the WNBPA, over a new collective bargaining agreement. Reese said the proposal the WNBA sent to the players was "disrespectful." "It was an eye-opener for me. Like, hearing the things and hearing the language of things and not things that I was happy to hear. It was disrespectful the things that we were sent back, the proposal that we were sent back," Reese told reporters at WNBA All-Star weekend on Friday. "It's important to be able to be vocal. If I sit back, it looks like I don't care." Last October, Reese admitted she couldn't afford to pay her bills based on her WNBA salary, in an Instagram live video, adding she paid $8,000 per month for rent. "I'm living beyond my means. Hating pays them bills, baby. I just hope you know the WNBA don't pay my bills at all," she said. "I don't even think that pays one of my bills. Literally, I'm trying to think of my rent for where I stay at. Let me do the math real quick. I don't even know my (WNBA) salary, $74,000?"
