Christian Pulisic’s World Cup year starts now, and the wall-to-wall coverage of the 18-year-old American’s season with Borussia Dortmund couldn’t have started with a bigger bang. In the starting lineup for DFB-Pokal winners Borussia Dortmund against Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich in the curtain-raising DFL-Supercup, the host side raced out to an early lead behind Pulisic.
Everyone knows Christian Pulisic is the light and the salvation, but VfL Bochum were reminded of that fact on Saturday during a preseason friendly draw.
Christian Pulisic scores equalizing goal for Dortmund against VfL Bochum. 2-2 preaseason draw. #BVB #USMNT pic.twitter.com/ii0mMUZ8jR
It didn't take Christian Pulisic long to show his new boss what he can do with the ball at his feet. In Borussia Dortmund’s first match of the International Champions Cup against renovated AC Milan in China, Pulisic had two assists and drew a penalty as the Germans cruised to a 3-1 win.
New Dortmund coach Peter Bosz will likely have few complaints with the 18-year-old American, who was subbed off in the 74th minute. Bosz was brought in from Ajax in June after guiding the Dutch team to the Europa League final.
The United States men's national team isn't perfect, but with Christian Pulisic they have moments of perfection.
Pulisic's first goal against Trinidad & Tobago involved three players with incredible skill combining with perfection. Darlington Nagbe danced down the right channel of the field at Dick's Sporting Goods Park before dropping the ball back to DeAndre Yedlin, whose cross cut through the defense and found Pulisic for the tap-in.
On Saturday, during halftime of the USMNT’s 1-1 draw with Venezuela, the preliminary 40-man roster for the 2017 Gold Cup was revealed. Manager Bruce Arena now has about three weeks to narrow that list down to the final cut of 23 players. The United States will open the tournament on July 8 against Panama.
This 40-player pool came with several surprises. MLS dominates the list with 32 of the selections being domestically-based. Here are a few of the more interesting decisions from Arena for the 2017 Gold Cup.
We know what position they play, the teams they’ve played for and every detail in between. But before their faces became famous and their jerseys sold out, they were just little kids with big dreams. Take a look at the adorable faces of your favorite players.
It shouldn't have to be like this, USMNT. Christian Pulisic is only 18 years old, but suddenly everyone is looking to him to be the catalyst of the offense. It's true that Pulisic is the best player on the team, but it's also true that he's an 18-year-old on a team with other very good players on it, players who need to carry their shares of the load.
AS Monaco scored three vital away goals against Borussia Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion, but you get the feeling that this tie favors whichever team is forced into having the attacking onus. The second leg in Monaco promises more of the same, and this time it’ll be Dortmund needing to force the issue.
Thomas Tuchel opted for a more conservative approach to start the match, playing Sven Bender, Sokratis and Lukasz Piszcezek in the back and opting for Marcel Schmelzer and Matthias Ginter as wing backs.
The 150th meeting between Ruhr-based clubs Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 ended in a 1-1 draw at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, but the match was not without its fair share of wonderful moments.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave the visitors the lead in the 53rd-minute, but Schalke academy project Thilo Kehrer scored his first-ever Schalke goal in the 77th to split the spoils. Here’s how it all went down.