Christian Pulisic says he wanted to play USMNT friendlies before Gold Cup, was turned down by coaching staff

The American star of the American gentlemen, Christian Pulisic, said he wanted to participate in the friendly matches of the group against Turkiye and Switzerland this month, but Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching staff decided against the continuity for the Concacaf Gold Cup.

Pulisic joined CBS Sports’s Golazo Network’s Call It That You Want on Thursday to discuss his choice to skip the Gold Cup to the back of two debilitating seasons with AC Milan and the national team, the announcement was made on May 22, but the exclusion of the Weektmion Donate was recently in the American Donor Problem. Pulisic used the interview to explain its circumstances, including the conversations with Pochettino and the company in the structure of the Gold Cup selection.

“The only point I would make with that is that I wanted to be part of the two friendly competitions,” said Pulisic. “I spoke with the coaches, and I asked, and I wanted to be part of the team in whatever capacity I could, and they said no. They said they wanted only one selection, and that is the coach’s decision.”

The friendly matches of this month to Turkiye and Switzerland, both defeats, preceded the Gold Cup, which starts a group phase against Trinidad and Tobago for the USMNT on Sunday. Although Pochettino called on a larger group of players for a training camp before he crashed the team before the Gold Cup last week, the head coach wanted to work exclusively with his Jeugd-Skewing tournament selection for the friendly matches.

“I fully respect that,” said Pulisic. “I didn’t understand, but it is what it is. I wanted to be part of it, but that’s just the way it went, and I had to make the best decision for myself and also in the long term for my team, although some people clearly didn’t see it that way.”

The player also sheds light on his decision to unsubscribe from the Gold Cup, of which he said he was a decision he made with the World Cup 2026 – and his teammates – in mind.

“It’s bad for me to miss the team,” he said. “I always want to be part of the team, but to be honest and by the second half of the season, I think my body was just starting to talk to me and my mind and then I started to think about what is best and what is best for me to go in the World Cup next year and was that best to play eight more games and then getting justice to you always get more to more?

For Pulisic, the decision was finally about coming to the USMNT for the entire summer trial or not participating in it. He and the coaching staff eventually opted for the latter, something he does not regret.

“I don’t regret my decision,” he said. “I think it is the right thing for me, the way I feel now, is to be honest, really very good and I am excited that I am already training again this week to train again and to work on some things that I really wanted to work on myself and I know it will bring me in a great position that leads to the next season, so I will stay with my decision.”