It should have been the young American’s chance to explode on to the global scene, to establish himself as a true member of the world footballing elite. A face to stick on a billboard. It was destined that Christian Pulisic would be a star in Russia. And yet that destiny was disrupted somewhere along the line. Pulisic never made it to the World Cup as the USA missed out on qualification for the first time since 1986. The teenager couldn’t have done much more to ensure his country avoided such a fate, scoring six times over 13 qualifying appearances. He deserved so much better. It’s why teammate Dax McCarty found the image of Pulisic, “the kid that had done so much,” stood, fully-clothed in the showers, head in hands, crying just minutes after the USA’s fateful draw with Trinidad and Tobago so haunting. On the basis of this pre-season form, though, Pulisic has put this disappointment behind him. He has to if he is to live up to his billing as one of the brightest young talents in the game right now. This coming season will be the most important in the 19-year-old’s career to date, with Pulisic ready to take the next step. This could be the season he becomes a bonafide superstar.

Time to Kick On

Having had the inadvertent benefit of a full summer to rest and tune-up, Pulisic has looked sharp over pre-season. His performance in Borussia Dortmund’s International Champions Cup win over Liverpool, in which he bagged a brace and assisted a third goal, hinted at the level the American could reach this season, with Virgil Van Dijk only awarded Man of the Match because the teenager could not receive the beer-sponsored prize. Against Manchester City, the winger left Oleksandr Zinchenko bamboozled, exposing Pep Guardiola’s side in a way few have over the past season or so. These performances might have come in pre-season, with many of the opposition teams missing their best players after the World Cup, but nonetheless, they offered a glimpse into how much more there is to come from Pulisic. And how that could be delivered sooner rather than later. For the US, Pulisic is already the main man. It’s impossible to examine the winger’s promise without considering the Stateside context of his talent. For years, America’s puzzling lack of a footballing superstar has been pondered. Their search for a star-spangled Lionel Messi has become something of a cliche, as has the insistence made by many that things would be different if the country’s top athletes played football over sports like basketball and American football.