United States players said they hope Christian Pulisic will be available for their Group D 2026 FIFA World Cup match against Australia on Friday after the striker was substituted at half-time in their opener with a left calf injury.
Team officials told reporters at the U.S. base camp on Wednesday that Pulisic is still being evaluated daily and is following a “modified training program,” which includes individual work both in the gym and on the field.
«We obviously really hope that Christian comes back for the game,» Brenden Aaronson, who could start in Pulisic’s place, told reporters.
“I don’t really know what’s going on in particular, but we know he’ll give us everything to get back into the team and be there for the game.”
PULISIC SENSATIONAL AGAINST PARAGUAY
Pulisic was sensational in the first half during the 4-1 defeat of Paraguay at the Los Angeles Stadium on Friday. He beat two defenders to force an own goal and set up Folarin Balogun to score before being sent off at half-time.
“He hasn’t fully trained with the group yet, but we have a few days to see where he is,” Antonee Robinson said.
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“Luckily we have a lot of guys on the bench who are keen and willing to get involved in helping the team and a lot of quality,” he said.
«It’s a long tournament. If we don’t have him back for the match, we’ll make sure we have him back for the rest of the time because we’ll need him.»
Close-knit GROUP
The team appeared relaxed and optimistic Wednesday at the Great Park Sports Complex, performing passing drills as coastal fog gave way to bright Southern California sunshine.
“It’s a great group of guys and the cohesiveness is really tight,” Aaronson said.
“Everyone is joking, everyone is having fun with each other. Sometimes I would say we joke too much and are too goofy, but we have the ability to flip that switch and go completely serious, like we did against Paraguay.
“Now there are two more games where we have to be at our best, and hopefully even further.”
Despite some high-profile US pundits predicting Australia would be the weakest team in the group, the Socceroos stunned Turkey 2-0 in their opener and will go into the match with plenty of confidence.
“We know it’s going to be very, very difficult to play against them,” Aaronson said.
«They had a really good first game, so we have to be ready to go. After our first game we will have some confidence, but we can’t get too high or too low.»
Published on June 18, 2026
