Overview
- Pochettino said he will meet with the U.S. medical team Thursday night to assess Christian Pulisic’s left calf and make a final availability decision for the match against Australia.
- Pulisic suffered a calf issue after being kicked in the back of the leg in the opening win over Paraguay and has trained only in modified, individual sessions while wearing a compression sleeve.
- The manager called Pulisic’s condition “evolving” and described him as improving, but listed the winger as day-to-day and said he would likely be available for the next group game if he cannot play against Australia.
- If Pulisic is ruled out, Pochettino has a range of tactical options he could deploy including Sebastian Berhalter, Malik Tillman, Brenden Aaronson, Gio Reyna, Tim Weah, Alejandro Zendejas or Christian Roldan.
- The choice matters for players and fans because the U.S. and Australia sit level on three points in Group D, and medical caution on muscle injuries could preserve Pulisic for the squad’s following fixture.