SEATTLE — U.S. men’s national team star Christian Pulisic ended the team’s World Cup finale on the sideline after spraining his right ankle during the team’s 4-1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16 on Monday.
With the U.S. trailing 2-1, Pulisic was lining up a shot at the edge of the 18-yard box in the 54th minute. Belgium’s Youri Tielemans stepped between the ball and Pulisic’s foot, leading to the American kicking Tielemans’ foot.
After staying down initially following the play to warrant a stoppage, Pulisic attempted to play through the injury but was visibly limping. He was subbed off in the 59th minute after Belgium took advantage of keeper Matt Freese’s blunder to extend their lead to 3-1.
Pulisic was visibly emotional on the sideline after being subbed off. He finished his second World Cup with one assist in four matches.
“It’s just frustrating to end like that, of course,” Pulisic told Fox Sports postgame. “Now I have time to rest, so it’ll be OK.”
In the United States’ opening match vs. Paraguay, Pulisic exacerbated a calf injury sustained before the World Cup and came off at halftime. He didn’t return to action until the second half of the team’s group-stage finale vs. Turkey.
His replacement on Monday, Sebastian Berhalter, nearly pulled a goal back for the U.S. and made it 3-2 in the 79th minute with a rocketed shot from the top of the box that narrowly missed wide left of the goal.
Reflecting on the tournament as a whole, Pulisic told Fox Sports, “It’s been such an incredible journey this summer. Yeah, I just never wanted it to end, so I’m just so thankful to all of the American people that supported us and gave us that boost. It was awesome. Definitely a summer I’ll never forget.”
In terms of where the U.S. stand among soccer’s elite, Pulisic said, “We need to get over that next hurdle … trying to compete and beat the world’s best. That’s the next step for us. It wasn’t quite there today, but I think we showed a lot of good things that (indicate) we have the potential to do it, but there’s still another step we have to take.”
–Field Level Media
