As the 2026 World Cup co-tournament hosts, the United States faces the pressure to perform as a home team. However, a pair of friendly losses have raised questions for the men’s team ahead of the tournament.
Former USA midfielder Cobi Jones joined “First Things First” to discuss the recent struggles of the United States in its pursuit of its first World Cup quarterfinals appearance since 2002. The U.S. recently dropped two friendlies this week, including a 5-2 loss to Belgium on Sunday and a 2-0 defeat to Portugal on Wednesday.
Jones reacted to Christian Pulisic’s comments following the Portugal loss, and defended the U.S. star’s optimism.
“Just looking at the results, you can’t be happy regardless of who the opponent is, especially with the timing, as you’re leading into the World Cup,” Jones said. “As one of the leaders of the team, he has to be positive, he’s got to find the way to get this team moving in the right direction, because two losses and only a couple of games left before the World Cup starts, you’re kind of looking at every way to bring that team together, to be that one unit.”
Cobi Jones on Christian Pulisic’s optimism, losses to Belgium & Portugal, Mauricio Pochettino’s Top 100 players comments, Türkiye in Group D
The talent gap between Portugal and the United States was apparent, and it was highlighted after the match, with coach Mauricio Pochettino saying that he doesn’t think the U.S. has any top-100 players — not even Pulisic.
But was it meant for Pulisic to take personally? Jones doesn’t think so.
“I wouldn’t say that it’s a slight towards Pulisic especially, I think it’s just saying, when we look at the world of soccer, you don’t have a lot American players that are considered to be in that top-100,” Jones said. “I would hope that he’s not so negative with the team going into the World Cup; I think he knew what he was getting into, or at least should have known what he was getting into coming to coach the U.S. team.”
Pulisic hasn’t scored a goal for the U.S. since 2024 and has not found the back of the net for AC Milan this year. Jones thinks ending Pulisic’s dry spell with the U.S. will come from discovering where he is the most dangerous on the field.
“To score goals, you have to have the right people around you, and you have to be the right people in the right positions,” Jones said. “He was being experimented with on the left (and) in the center.
“I think they’ve got to just figure out his best position, where he can be the most dangerous, where I think he likes to come in off that wing and cut inside and have a go. I think that’s probably the best position for him.”
The U.S. now turns towards a pair of friendlies leading into group stage of the World Cup, with Senegal on May 31 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC and Germany on June 6 at Soldier Field in Chicago.
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