The Gold Cup has begun and prior to the debut of the United States national team, Mauricio Pochettino has had to deal with the decision to have excluded Christian Pulisic from the national team in friendly matches for the CONCACAF tournament
Yes, it was my decision not to include him in the two friendly matches, and that’s it. He was in our plan to play in the Gold Cup, but I’m not here to be a puppet
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This statement revolves around the US striker’s request to be excluded from playing in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, but that he would be willing to play the friendly matches, on the grounds that he played in about 120 games in two years with AC Milan in Serie A and with the US national team, so he asked the coach to understand that he was tired and accept his decision.
The players don’t have to understand or not. The players must listen and stick to our plan. They cannot dictate the plan, otherwise we change the position, don’t we? The most important thing is that we explain why we decided not to include him in the two friendlies. And then, if they have any problem, no, it’s not my problem to understand it.
Mauricio Pochettino ignored Christian Pulisic’s request
Faced with this conflict of views, Mauricio Pochettino made the decision to exclude striker Christian Pulisic from the squad for the two friendlies against Turkey and Switzerland, played earlier this week, due to a disagreement with him over his availability for the national team. The 26-year-old has made 78 appearances for the US national team, scoring 32 goals since his debut in 2016.
The American head coach said he will not allow Christian Pulisic to dictate which games he “wants to play in”, explaining why he turned down the star’s offer to play in a couple of friendlies before the Concacaf Gold Cup, but not the tournament itself. “I’m the one who calls the shots, not the players. When I signed my contract with the federation, I was the head coach and I’m the one who says which players play in the games we have coming up.”
USMNT legends disapprove of Christian Pulisic’s stance
Figures who have shaped the US national team such as Alexi Lalas and Landon Donovan criticised Christian Pulisic’s decision, and his national team coach didn’t like the idea either. In an interview with CBS Sports earlier this week, the striker expressed his respect for Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to leave him out of the US national team, but did not understand the premise.
At the same time, he hit out at those who questioned his commitment to the national team, calling them “excessive”. In the midst of all this, Mauricio Pochettino faced the commitments against Turkey, with a 2-1 defeat, followed by another 4-0 debacle against Switzerland, which means that he will play the first match of the Gold Cup against Trinidad and Tobago with four consecutive defeats to his name.
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