Time to worry? Christian Pulisic cuts frustrated figure amid career-worst US rut | Christian Pulisic

No one on the United States men’s national team is worried about Christian Pulisic’s severe lack of scoring form.

At least no one says that.

Pulisic hasn’t scored for Milan in 2026 and hasn’t scored for his national team in eight games, a career-high international drought that stretches back to late 2024. He walked across the mixed zone after the USMNT’s 2-0 loss to Portugal on Tuesday and spoke to a group of reporters but said very little, praising the atmosphere in Atlanta and offering some rare commentary on the United States’ intensity level, the hot topic of this window.

He also spoke briefly about his own form, choosing to remain largely positive about his struggles and looking toward the road ahead.

“It’s frustrating,” Pulisic told reporters. “But I’m just going to stay positive. I have a lot of big things ahead of me and I know I’m going to get to the other side and things are going to click.”

None of this surprises journalists who have spoken with Pulisic before. The midfielder is generally reserved with the press, often measuring his comments with extreme caution. After nearly a decade in the spotlight, he has no shortage of experience dealing with journalists and is certainly not eager to say the wrong thing or have his words misinterpreted.

On Tuesday evening, however, Pulisic couldn’t help but express himself on the pitch.

There were bright moments, sequences where he ran at defenders or got into promising positions. Pulisic spent much of the match playing as a center forward. After the match, U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino said he deployed Pulisic – who operates as Milan’s second striker and generally plays an attacking midfielder role for the United States – in that position to bring him closer to goal and “help him a little bit” in terms of recovering his goal touch.

Pulisic had no shortage of opportunities to contribute. He was eager to play with the ball and at times felt like the hardest-working U.S. player in the first half, certainly a welcome change of pace after a frustrating shift in the U.S.’s 5-2 loss to Belgium on Saturday.

Yet Pulisic’s most telling attribute on Tuesday was his body language. Throughout his 45-minute shift, he was visibly frustrated, particularly in and around the penalty area, where he struggled greatly.

He grimaced in the sixth minute, when his point-blank shot was blocked out of play. He was even more frustrated 15 minutes later when he failed to even connect with a ball passed across the penalty area, an unusually poor technical effort from a gifted player. The only time he came close to scoring was equally maddening, a weak 25-yard effort in the 35th minute that rolled an inch wide of the near post.

At the end of the half, Pulisic’s temper got the better of him. Denied a foul after a midfield scuffle, he was booked after hitting Vintinha afterwards. Later, after being stripped of the ball in the penalty area, Pulisic tackled Samu Costa and received a yellow. Pochettino replaced him at half-time. After the match, Pulisic said that was probably the plan all along.

“He feels frustrated,” Pochettino told reporters. “But this is what we want and what we expect. He fought, he engaged in the phases where we demanded more [of him] and then with the ball, he will score. Because he has this quality. I’m sure he will return to his club, and the moment he scores, he will score again.

It seems unlikely that Pulisic will not correct course at Milan and may not even return to the early season form that made him a vital piece for the club. And even if he doesn’t – and even if he fails to score a single goal for club or country before the United States’ World Cup begins on June 11 – there is no doubt he will be in Pochettino’s starting XI.

However, the uncertainty surrounding his form will only intensify, as will the pressure. Pochettino, who changed at least part of his tactical approach in this match to help Pulisic regain his form, knows this, whether he says it or not. Pulisic too.

“[In] the first two halves [against Portugal and Belgium]we caused a lot of problems for both teams,” Pulisic said. “We put a lot of pressure on them. We have done a lot of great things. These are just small moments, or just a little more clinical. I feel really close and I feel like we’re in a good place.