Christian Pulisic, born on Sept. 18, 1998, turned 19 on Monday. In the first 18 years of his life, he has already been called the greatest American soccer player of all time. But how does he compare to Landon Donovan at the same age?
In recent days a (wild) rumor has spread saying Club América’s jewel, 17-year-old Diego Lainez, could be sold for the staggering amount of $35-41.8 million in 2018. TV Azteca reporter Omar Zerón recently tweeted that several European teams are looking to sign the young player in order to develop him and turn the left-footed Mexican into a star.
In a Champions League group with Real Madrid and Tottenham, every point matters for Borussia Dortmund. Spurs torched BVB 3-1 on Wednesday in the UCL opener, Dortmund came away with an arguably more important victory: a gif win.
Christian Pulisic is the most talented player in USMNT history, and he is just 18 years old (19 later this month). Given how good Borussia Dortmund's player development is, he is only going to get better. Cross your fingers and hope we get to watch Pulisic for a long time.
But.
What now seems meant to be almost wasn't. A few years ago Croatia, which Pulisic was eligible for because of his Croatian grandparents, made overtures Pulisic's way. He politely turned them down and turned into a soaring eagle for the USA.
But.
The story of Sunday night’s 1-1 draw between Seattle and Los Angeles wasn’t Lamar Neagle’s 85th minute equalizer for the Sounders, nor was it Gyasi Zardes actually doing a goal for the Galaxy. It was provided by FS1 broadcaster Alexi Lalas after the match had concluded. Lalas has some opinions on the USMNT, and he brought them. He brought them hard.
With only a handful of matches remaining in World Cup qualifying, it’s become clear which nations are in serious danger of missing out on Russia next summer. While all will become clear in October, here are 25 global superstars who, if World Cup qualifying ended today, would either fail to appear at the tournament or would need to navigate a playoff to qualify.
The United States hadn’t lost in 14 matches since November. Then Costa Rica put a New Jersey beat down on the Yanks at Red Bull Arena, winning 2-0 in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying on Friday evening.
Costa Rica pressed, harassed and fought its way to a deserved win that all but assures Los Ticos a spot in next summer’s World Cup. The USMNT played like they did when they got Jurgen Klinsmann fired in November.
Without a goal or an assist in Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 win over Hertha Berlin on Saturday, Christian Pulisic mania wasn’t allowed to grip the nation. But a “quiet” week from the 18-year-old also allows us to dissect his performance in a more serious manner.
What the analysis reveals should obviously already be clear, but let’s just belabor the point: Pulisic isn’t a gimmick. He’s not the fevered creation of a nation starved of a world-class talent. He’s actually just really, really good.
Can you hear it? Playing over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again? It’s the Champions League anthem. The best thing to happen to Tuesdays and Wednesdays since Frasier went off air is nearly back.
Thursday marked the Champions League group stage draw in Monaco but we know you only care about two things, so let’s get them out of the way.
Qarabag was drawn into Group C and Christian Pulisic is in Group H, with two more matches against Real Madrid in store, not to mention a date at Wembley.