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2026 FIFA World Cup
29MAR

Pulisic's goal drought hits seven games

1 min read
14:01UTC

The USMNT captain has not scored for club or country since December. His manager says he is happy with him. His club manager disagrees.

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SportAssessed
Key takeaway

Pulisic has not scored for club or country in three months, turning a form dip into a genuine selection concern.

Christian Pulisic squandered multiple chances against Belgium on Friday, extending his international goal drought to seven USMNT appearances stretching back to November 2024. 1 At club level the picture is no better: his last AC Milan goal came on 28 December 2025 against Hellas Verona. He has played 11 of his last 12 Milan matches without a goal or an assist. 2

Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri has publicly expressed concern about international duty straining Pulisic's fitness. 3 Pochettino, by contrast, says he is "happy" with his captain. The gap between those two assessments is where the real selection debate lives. Pulisic remains the only Serie A player since 2023-24 with 31+ goals and 20+ assists combined. Form is temporary. But three months without scoring is not a blip; it is a pattern, and it has arrived at exactly the wrong moment for the squad Pochettino named just days earlier .

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Christian Pulisic is America's best footballer and captain of the national team. He has not scored in his last seven games for the USA (since November 2024) and has gone three months without scoring for his club, AC Milan, either. For a player expected to be the USA's main goal threat at a home World Cup, this run of form at the worst possible time is a significant concern. His managers at club and country are giving contradictory signals: the club manager is worried; the national team manager says he is 'happy.'

Deep Analysis
Root Causes

Pulisic's positional role at AC Milan has shifted under Allegri, who uses him wider and with fewer touches in central areas. This restricts the penalty-box arrivals that produced his 2023-24 output. The USMNT uses him differently again, creating a player who is adapting to two contradictory role definitions simultaneously.

The structural tension between club and country scheduling is acute at this stage of the season. European clubs prioritise league form; national teams demand peak fitness precisely when club managers want load management.

Sources:ESPN·World Soccer Talk
Mentions:Belgium →Christian Pulisic →Mauricio Pochettino →
First Reported In

Update #3 · USA beaten 5-2 at World Cup host venue

ESPN· 29 Mar 2026
Read original →
Causes and effects
Caused by
Pochettino names 27 for last Cup window
Pochettino's squad selection included Pulisic as captain despite the ongoing goal drought, making the Belgium match the next visible evidence of the form crisis.
Occurred 23 Mar 2026
Read story →
This Event
Pulisic's goal drought hits seven games
The USMNT captain's three-month scoring drought across club and country raises the defining selection question of the host nation's World Cup preparation.
Different Perspectives
Brazilian Football Confederation
Brazilian Football Confederation
Carlo Ancelotti's CBF named a 55-man preliminary squad on 9 May including Neymar, absent since October 2023, with the final 26 announced 18 May. Rodrygo and Militão were ruled out; the inclusion of Neymar serves both the coaching staff's tactical options and CBF's commercial interests in the home-continent cycle.
Confederation of African Football
Confederation of African Football
CAF issued no public statement on the $15,000 visa bond affecting five qualified African nations, named by Al Jazeera on 5 May. Per BBC Africa Sport, CAF privately encouraged federations to use bilateral diplomatic channels rather than issue a collective protest, reflecting the body's institutional dependency on FIFA's commercial framework.
Giovanni Malagò / Serie A
Giovanni Malagò / Serie A
Malagò reached 48% confirmed FIGC assembly bloc on 10 May after Lega B and Lega Pro signalled support, driven by Serie A clubs' need for parliamentary access to three debt-reduction reforms. A pre-vote majority before the 13 May declaration deadline would make the 22 June election ceremonial.
Football Supporters Europe / Euroconsumers
Football Supporters Europe / Euroconsumers
The Article 102 TFEU complaint filed on 24 March remains unacknowledged by DG COMP 18 days past the procedural deadline; MEP Brando Benifei and 24 colleagues filed a parliamentary question E-001336/2026 demanding an explanation from the Commission.
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
HRW's 11 May deadline for host cities to publish rights action plans passed with 12 of 16 cities non-compliant. HRW disputes FIFA's position that internal submission satisfies the transparency requirement, arguing fans cannot read what protections their city have committed to.
UNITE HERE Local 11
UNITE HERE Local 11
Filed NLRB and California AG complaints naming FIFA on 8 May, describing a SoFi Stadium strike as 'pretty realistic'. The filings follow five weeks of FIFA non-response to its April letter and test whether a Swiss event organiser can be bound by US employment and privacy law through its licensee chain.