One USMNT player is emerging as Christian Pulisic's replacement against Australia | OneFootball

The USMNT is moments away from getting back to action. This Friday, the 19th, the US national team will face Australia for a chance of becoming first in the group and qualify for the next round.

Mexico became the first team to qualify for the Round of 16, after defeating South Korea 1-0. Now, the USMNT wants to achieve the next round and set a precedent for the rest of the teams at the World Cup

Right now, the only US player in doubt for this game is Christian Pulisic, meaning Mauricio Pochettino has to name a replacement for Captain America.

Giovanni Reyna should be Pulisic’s replacement

The former Borussia Dortmund wonderkid should be the one replacing the USMNT number 10. He can play in the same place and have a similar playing style.

It’s true, Reyna does not command the same level of respect from opponents as Pulisic does, largely because the AC Milan star has extensive European experience and has proven himself to be one of the best players in club competitions.

However, given the team’s recent form, the Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder can thrive if not burdened with defensive duties, allowing him to focus solely on attacking and creating opportunities for Balogun.

Against Paraguay, Reyna played eight minutes. Those few instances were enough for him to score an amazing goal against the Albirroja and score the fourth goal in the score.

It is public knowledge that Australia is solid defensively and can surprise anyone. They made that clear after nearly drawing their Round of 16 match against Argentina, a team that would later become world champions.

To prevent this, Mauricio Pochettino has to put Reyna to try to match what Christian Pulisic could have given to the team if he were healthy.

The truth is that the former Tottenham Hotspur will give its verdict later today, before the encounter, but there are no promises that the AC Milan forward will play.