United States manager Gregg Berhalter admits he’s blown away by the work-rate of Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic.
Pulisic had another defining moment last night in his international career, scoring the winning goal for the United States in a 1-0 victory against Iran. It means the U.S. finish as runners-up in their World Cup group, which sets up a tie against the Netherlands in the last 16.
Chelsea’s attacker tapped in the winning goal in the first-half, but it did come at the cost of injury himself in a collision that did force him off the pitch.
The United States will pray the 24-year-old winger is fit and firing to go in time for Saturday’s knockout tie against the Netherlands.
Christian Pulisic work-rate
Berhalter, who names Pulisic as one of the best individuals in the United States squad, insists he’s also one of the hardest workers.
“It’s a wonderful thing when one of your best players is also one of the most hard working. He’s certainly that. I can’t say enough positive things about Christian,” Berhalter told BBC Sport.
There is something about Pulisic’s game that does seem to lift an extra 10 per cent when he represents his country.
He definitely has an added pressure on his shoulders when he’s playing for the United States, something he thrives on to help pop up with the big moment.
Journalist Florian Plettenberg reports that Pulisic wants to stay with Chelsea beyond January despite interest in him.
If he can return from the World Cup with a similar kind of confidence, Graham Potter should definitely give him some more chances in the starting line-up at Stamford Bridge.
It’s obvious the Blues are waiting for one of their attackers to step up and really seize the role of being the club’s talisman.
A lot of Chelsea fans have run out of patience with Pulisic because his time in West London has been inconsistent, but could things be about to change?
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