Christian Pulisic's Status For Friday's Game Remains Uncertain

Will the United States men's national team have Christian Pulisic at their disposal for Friday's showdown with Australia? That question is on every American soccer fan's mind right now.

Pulisic was outstanding last Friday against Paraguay, creating two goal-scoring opportunities for his squad in the opening 45 minutes. Unfortunately, he didn't play in the second half due to a calf injury.

"I just got a bit of a kick in the first half, I'm hoping that it's nothing, taking precaution," Pulisic told FOX's Tom Rinaldi. "Staying positive, I don't think it's anything. I'm gonna give everything I can to be back, that's for sure."

According to reports, Pulisic was training away from the rest of the USMNT during Wednesday's practice session.

"He's not been training fully with the group yet. We've still got a couple of days to see where he is at," defender Antonee Robinson said. "And you know, thankfully, we've got a lot of boys on the bench eager and ready to get involved and helping the team and with a lot of quality."

Holding out hope for Pulisic.

U.S. midfielder Weston McKennie told reporters Thursday that he's hopeful Pulisic will be good to go against Australia. Of course, he can't make any promises.

"Hopefully he can be there tomorrow," McKennie said. "I know he really wants to be and he's doing everything he can, and the staff is doing everything they can as well. That's probably better to ask him rather than me. I'm in my own la la land."

If Pulisic is unable to suit up for Friday's match, McKennie will need to step up in a major way. The USMNT will also need Folarin Balogun, Sergino Dest and Malik Tillman to step up.

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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 1:59 PM.