I was gonna push back on the idea this was short sighted, becaues I'm sympathetic (regardless of how not-great it played out) to the idea of throwing the potential backups into the deep end. However, this -- especially in hindsight -- is a really strong point.
IMO, Pulisic has been unlucky in a few ways here. Whoever pushed the decision (CONCACAF + USSF/FMF) to shift the Gold Cup to June instead of July made it trickier for US players who wanted to get a full summer break off to step aside without an issue. In any other year, Pulisic would have played 2-3 matches with the US in late May / early June and then gotten a full summer break. Pulisic is also taking the heat due to the fact that he has much more name recognition than any of the other leaders on the team. But... there are now media personalities with enough interest in US Soccer to be critical when things are going wrong. This is what US Soccer fans have always wanted, right? And unfortunately, the US team is in a rut right now, so the leaders are going to get scrutiny. It's notable that the United States hasn't sent a full team to the Gold Cup since 2019. We're starting to reach the point that the intensity and $ of the club game is creating dilemmas for top players, and CONCACAF damaged its own competition by creating Nations League and spamming it seemingly every year so that top players have another trophy to win instead.
Landon had his chance at playing in actually competitive leagues which required real intensity and chose to run away to MLS where he averaged about 2000 low intensity minutes per season. If you choose to take a stroll on the beach you don't get to criticize someone who decides to climb a mountain because they stop to take a breath.
Yep. And it's interesting that there is an appropriate comparison to Landon Donovan and the controversy over his "sabbatical" in early 2013 that has literally been happening with the most prominent player on another national team right now. Robert Lewandowski and Poland. Has done his duty over and over again for Poland, year after year, just like Donovan and the US. Scored in multiple tournaments, just like Donovan (actually fewer WC goals than Donovan). Started to deal with persistent small injuries as they got older, just like Donovan. Notable that Polish fans almost universally seemed to back Lewandowski, from what I could see. While their was a faction of US fans that acted in 2014 and still now, even in 2025, as pathetic weasels towards Donovan.
When you think of all the unavailable players (Pulisic, Robinson, Dest, Musah, McKennie, Weah, Reyna, etc.), I'm starting to wonder how many of them were willing to play in (and whose clubs were willing to release them for) the two lead up friendlies but not the Gold Cup. And how many of those Poch turned down because he wanted to have the same group for both. I don't feel great about Pulisic offering to play in the friendlies but not the Gold Cup. But we also have so few opportunities remaining between now and next year to play World Cup quality opposition in preparation for that tournament, that I'm also hoping we didn't just throw away one of those rare opportunities, which we could have used to mix in some new faces with A-team veterans. We might have at least looked halfway competitive against Switzerland, and given a few more players a chance to impress.
CP is the last player we should worry about. This whole thing is a product of the outrage culture we live in, from official media all the way down to fans on social media, emotionally overreacting all you see.
Aside from what it looks like on the field, this was the only opportunity for sustained preparation before the World Cup. It is a serious problem that they all missed. You can tell that Pochettino views it as a problem and is addressing it as a problem. It’s not some minor “oh well…” kind of thing.
I can top that list lol: How about getting shredded by Germany in that friendly, getting embarrassed in a tight win at home against the Uzbek's the month before, losing to T&T in their first game back in T&T since Couva (I think), nearly drawing them at home while up a man (it was 0-0 at the 79th minute after more than 35 minutes up a man when Pepi pulled their --- out of the fire), losing to Jamaica in a game they needed the refs to save their ---es in, humiliated at home against Colombia in a send off match, losing to Panama at home, toothless loss to a Uruguay that didn't even need a result and we needed everything. I get that this is an athlete thing: athletes are remarkably forgetful and thoughtless about the particulars of their sport, kind of like actors forgetting all sorts of things related to their work history, but man, how the hell has he forgotten what's happened really the past two years (even the commentators seem to only remember the loss in NL to Panama): the Germany thrashing, the humiliating home and home disaster against T&T, the uggfest should have been loss to Jamaica, to the horror show Copa America and Colombia send off match, or the embarrassing run of forum last fall before and after Poch came in....It's been two years of utter dog ---- and all he can remember is "1 bad result". Dude, there have been 8 horrific performances before that Panama Nations League match in the last two years alone, is the fact that we only lost 4 of them why he's forgotten all of it? Does his mind say all his fine, so long as they win? That's not actually the way to get better....maybe he needs the short memory to forget the horror, I don't know, but it's pretty ridiculous that he's forgotten: 2-1 barely win over the Uzbeks Germany thrashing us barely winning up a man vs T&T Losing away to T&T Needing the refs to save us in the 10th minute of extra time against Jamaica 1-5 battering by a Colombia that was about to nose dive in WCQ 1-2 horror loss to Panama 0-1 toothless loss to Uruguay Fall '24 of horrors (1-1 tie with New Zealand, 1-2 loss to Canada and 0-2 loss to Mexico) 0-1 NL loss to Panama in the supposed revenge game (a friendly doesn't count). So easy for him to forget. I sure as hell haven't.
Jedi played almost every minute of Fulhams EPL campaign this season but when it came time for the usmnt in March and June suddenly it was time for rest and then surgery.
So players like McKennie Weah Reyna etc. should have refused to participate in the Club World Cup with the clubs they play for and that they are under contract with? Mods can you somehow link this comment to his profile so it follows him around forever thanks
Laughable take when you realize that Donovan was literally the focal point of US Soccer from the U17 level in 1998-1999, until his break in 2012. He got no breaks, EVER. None. Dude played in virtually every single camp cupcake of the decade of the aughts, virtually all of them, the only ones he missed were because if memory serves, he wasn't a full member of the team yet (he wouldn't debut until fall '00) in 2000, and because he was with Bayern Munich in the winter of '08-'09. Dude literally made every, lol, Camp Cupcake otherwise. I've got no issue with people bitching about his decision to stick with MLS, even if he kinda helped save that league along with Hunt, it bothered me too. But carrying the flag? He never stopped once in terms of wearing the shirt, between 1998-2012. Not once. There are others who did the same in their era, but no-one who carried so much of a burden, so long, as he did. It's pretty ridiculous to think he can't criticize a guy who literally took off a good 75-90% of the USMNT's games played between Couva and the Gold Cup of '19, and now is taking off the summer of 2025 the year before a WC. Personally btw, I can understand why it makes sense. Dude was injured constantly coming up with Dortmund and nearly the entirety of his time with Chelsea he was running into injury problems at some point or repeated points in any given season. After 7000 minutes of largely injury free soccer in Milan, taking a summer off doesn't sound crazy to me, just don't pretend for a second that you're better or the equivalent in terms of commitment to Donovan after he spent 14 ----ing years doing literally everything, always, with no breaks EVER.
Yeah. It's pathetic how a certain faction of US fans continue to humiliate themselves by attacking Donovan. Donovan played 10 summer tournaments for the US in 10 years from 2002 to 2011. If I recall correctly, Donovan played in every single US competitive match where the US wasn't playing a B team from mid-2001 to mid-2012. 0 matches missed due to injuries, card accumulation, club prioritization, or anything else. Donovan says that he won't be available for some matches in 2013, and he was justifiably off the team. But then the persistent criticism of him and resurrection of the issue in 2014 and beyond was just embarrassing, and it's difficult to see other major national teams acting the same way towards a star. Like with Lewandowski and Poland. It's difficult to expect to Pulisic to achieve that standard, simply due to the sneers that big European clubs are going to give to players consistently playing in a tournament like the Gold Cup.
Again. Landon averaged under 2200 minutes per season throughout his career and in his day the MLS season ran from the beginning of April to the end of October. Which meant that he got 4+ months off every year. So of course he had plenty of time to play for the National Team. Also Gold Cup takes place in the middle of the MLS season not its offseason and due to the incestuous relationship between the USSF and MLS there were no issues with players leaving to play for the National Team. Furthermore those weren't exactly the most demanding 2200 minutes per season either. He was under no pressure to keep his spot in the lineup and frankly he played a fair number of games each season on cruise control set at a very comfortable pace. His decision to go to (and stay in) MLS was debated endlessly on these forums and I'm not even criticizing him for it. However to me when you take the easy path you lose the right to criticize someone who challenges themselves and takes the hard path.
Players should have refused to play in the CWC AND faked injury 6 months later in January to bolt from their clubs mid season to participate in an offseason NT camp with MLS players. And they should also completely ignore what that would do to their club standing and form heading directly into the WC when their clubs bench them.
All that being said I’d have no issue with Poch not calling Puli up in Sept, or making him come off the bench. Puli can take time off and the coach can make a statement in return if he feels it warrants it.
I will say this here for whoever cares - the USMNT is not well served by Donovan, Pulisic and others bickering publicly … if you have a beef - then say it directly and personally. And parents should stay the hell out of it. Haven’t we already learned that?
Absolutely. This was a FIFA window. The CWC is essentially a preseason warm-up tournament. The US players absolutely should have been with the US.
I don't think that is even possible as we have no leaders and no true followers. We have just a bunch of people doing what they feel is best for themselves. That is a recipe for disaster. But that disaster may have already happened.
I think it’s good that they are getting called out in public and that the USMNT legends are doing it. With the BS that this generation is pulling, we should be thankful that people like Tim Howard, Landon Donovan, and Clint Dempsey are making sure that these players all know that the USMNT legends won’t stand by and smile while they drop the ball.
Yes, and then he played the next Fulham game. He scheduled the surgery during the US window because he viewed it as though it was not a priority. These guys are 3/4 of the way to crapping the bed in a home World Cup. Everyone realizes that these guys crapping the bed in a home World Cup will set the sport back 20 years in the US, right? It will undo the work that was done to put these guys in this opportunity. The more I think about it the more preposterous it is that these guys would have ever considered checking out of preparing for this at this time. It’s mind boggling.