'Much better': National media hails 'heroic performance' from 24-year-old Chelsea player at the World Cup
Christian Pulisic played 90 minutes and impressed for the United States yesterday in the goalless draw against England at the World Cup. National media Sporting News were extremely complimentary of the Chelsea attacker’s performance on the World Cup stage.
It finished 0-0 on Friday night in the Group B match between England and United States, with both nations still fighting for qualification going into the final fixture next week.
Pulisic, who assisted for the United States in their draw against Wales, once again caught the eye for his country.
The 24-year-old Chelsea winger provided a few great attacking sparks against an England side he knows well, especially club teammates Mason Mount and Raheem Sterling.
Christian Pulisic against England
Sporting News gave Pulisic a 7/10 match rating for yesterday’s display. In particular they noticed a lot better set-piece delivery from the Blues forward.
“Christian Pulisic was the best U.S. attacker for the second straight game, and he put in a heroic performance to lead the U.S. going forward. Time and time again Pulisic carried the U.S. from the middle third into the attacking third and then threaded through teammates to spring opportunities in the penalty area,” Sporting News wrote.
“Pulisic himself had the best chance of the game, rattling the crossbar with a fizzed first-half effort that had Jordan Pickford beat. With 54 touches, Pulisic lost possession just 18 times, which is a total Gregg Berhalter will take every single time from his high-risk, high-reward chance creator. He won six of his nine ground duels, including two of three dribble attempts, and won three critical fouls. Pulisic was also much better on set-piece deliveries than in recent memory, which is a positive sign should he continue to be the main man to take.
“Still, just one key pass feels a letdown and it will be disappointing that the U.S. can’t finish more chances, or create enough opportunities to see out games. But Pulisic is doing his best to will the team into the final third, and he remains in the driver seat of this team’s destiny.”
His “heroic” tagline may have be a bit overboard from the media. You could make a strong case to say he was the brightest Chelsea player on the pitch, though.
There’s no doubting Pulisic is still a great player, with Jack Wilshere recently discussing how much he rates him.
However, it’s frustrating for Chelsea supporters to watch him turn it on when he plays for his country.
The conversation around his inconsistency is one that drives the Blues fanbase crazy.
Let’s wait and see what Graham Potter has in store for him during the second half of the season.
Keep up to date with all the latest Chelsea news and opinion by following The Chelsea Chronicle’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
