Christian Pulisic shows ability to perform on biggest stage with USMNT

Christian Pulisic has been a divisive figure since joining Chelsea from Dortmund back in 2019. The American has had rotten luck with injuries during his time in SW6, almost missing an entire Premier League campaign over the course of his three years in west London. Even though Pulisic has been sidelined for extended periods of time, he’s still managed to play an important role throughout nearly every season at one point or another. During his first season, he was unplayable during Project Restart, and he helped the Blues qualify for the Champions League. The youngster later went on to help his club reach the UCL final that it went on to win over Manchester City.

Despite his tendency to show up when the lights are brightest, Chelsea fans have yet to see the consistency they’ve been begging for since his arrival. This is large in part due to the fact he’s suffered so many injuries in such a short amount of time. The current season has shown that when the 23-year-old does manage to stay healthy, he’s undoubtedly a game changer for the Blues as a goalscoring winger. Pulisic’s fine form this year reached its pinnacle on Sunday night as he scored a hat-trick for the United States in the 5-1 win over Panama.

Christian Pulisic shines under the bright lights with hat-trick for USMNT

Four and a half years ago, a 19-year-old Pennsylvania native burst into tears at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Balmain, Trinidad and Tobago. The one they call “Captain America” was unable to guide his nation to a victory, despite a goal early in the second half. The United States Men’s National Team hit rock bottom that October night as it failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. This moment sparked massive changes within American soccer, but one thing has remained consistent throughout the years since: the leader. Sunday was Pulisic’s moment to shine as he got a crack at redemption for the first time since 2017.

The United States was coming off a 0-0 draw at Mexico that put it in a promising position heading into the last two World Cup qualifying games. Costa Rica’s win earlier in the day versus El Salvador meant that Gregg Berhalter’s men would have to wait until Wednesday to qualify, but a win on Sunday would essentially lock up a place in Qatar for the Stars and Stripes. There was no way the current crop of talented youngsters were going to leave anything to chance against Panama.

Pulisic—who captained his country on the night—wasted no time under the Orlando lights as he gave the United States a lead with a 17′ penalty. He slotted home a second spot kick right on the brink of halftime to send his squad into the break with a comfortable 3-0 lead. The Chelsea winger went on to net his first international hat-trick in the 65′ with an exquisite goal that put the exclamation point on the contest.

It was a redemption outing four years in the making for the man who has shouldered the weight of a nation for a majority of his young club and international career. Expectations have been sky high on Pulisic from the start, but he showed us all once again that no lights are too bright for him. He is expected to take the pitch again for Berhalter’s side on Wednesday as the U.S. looks to officially punch its ticket to Qatar 2022. America needs either a result against Costa Rica or to lose by less than six goals to officially qualify.

Suffice it to say, all eyes will once again look to Pulisic to fulfill the dreams of a country hungry for success on the world’s biggest sporting stage.