Pulisic embracing pressure of USA's home World Cup
Christian Pulisic is seen as the face of United States football, and he is shouldering a lot of the pressure ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Christian Pulisic is relishing the pressure of representing the United States at a home World Cup, seeing it as a "privilege".
The United States are co-hosting the 2026 World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada, though the final will be held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
This will be the United States' 12th appearance in the competition and their second as hosts, after reaching the round of 16 in 1994 when they were eliminated by eventual champions Brazil.
Their best World Cup finish came in the inaugural 1930 tournament – they secured third place. In the modern era, their best run was in 2002, reaching the quarter-finals.
Pulisic, meanwhile, was directly involved in all three of the United States' goals at the 2022 World Cup, scoring once and delivering two assists.
The 27-year-old is considered the 'poster boy' of USA football, though he embraces the pressure which comes with the role.
"I feel like I've dealt with this my whole career, in a way," Pulisic told GOAL.
"Maybe the moment is a little bit bigger, of course, but honestly, it doesn't change my preparation. It doesn't change much at all for me.
"Going into it, like, yes, it's a World Cup. Everyone has pressure, if that's what people want me to say, but it's also like... This is what I've trained every day for.
"This is what I've dreamed of, to have this pressure. I want to be in this position, so I wouldn't change it for the world.
"It’s a privilege, honestly, to have it. I'm trying to live in this moment and do the best I can. Hopefully, people realise that."
The USA face Paraguay in their World Cup opener on June 12, before also facing Australia and Turkiye in Group D.











