USMNT Legend Eric Wynalda fires back at Landon Donovan over Christian Pulisic | OneFootball

One of the biggest contradictions of this World Cup was the way the USMNT took center stage during the early rounds, only for that movement and aggressiveness to disappear in the decisive match against a top opponent.

After the USMNT elimination from the tournament, one of the players who received the most criticism was Christian Pulisic.

One of his critics was USMNT legend Landon Donovan, who questioned his toughness.

However, during a recent interview on Schein Time, Eric Wynalda came to the AC Milan forward’s defense following the criticism from the former LA Galaxy striker.

Eric Wynalda backs Christian Pulisic in response to the harsh criticism.

First of all, let’s discuss why the media have targeted Pulisic after the USMNT elimination. While every player struggled in the match, it was "Captain America" who drew the brunt of the criticism.

When Pulisic came off the field, the USMNT was trailing 3-1, and the match was practically over given the performance put forth by Mauricio Pochettino's side.

The criticism from the media came because Pulisic, widely regarded as the team's best player, did not stay on the field and leave everything he had.

The reality, however, is that the AC Milan forward had suffered a calf injury just days before the match and was clearly limited physically.

Following his substitution, Landon Donovan said that he would have had to be dragged off the field and that he would have died out there with his teammates.

Now, former USMNT legend Eric Wynalda defended Christian Pulisic after what Donovan stated.

“He’s [Pulisic] got people like Landon Donovan taking shots at him, which I don’t appreciate, by the way. Landon Donovan took a hiatus and decided to go to Cambodia, so he doesn’t get to talk about this.”

Referring to that sabbatical of four months Donovan took during the 2012-13 season. Although Wynalda acknowledged that the performance of Pulisic didn’t help his situation:

“All the facts are working against him right now. This is a guy that I still have a high opinion of. To be honest, he doesn’t like the spotlight. He shouldn’t be called a superstar. He doesn’t want to be a superstar. He just wants to be a guy on a team that can help when he can. And part of the argument here is that some guys feel like they’re always a shoo-in, that they have to start because they’re such important players.”

Indeed, putting Pulisic wasn’t the smart choice here. Knowing he was physically diminished, many another player like Pepi could have done a better job. However, it’s easy to talk now with the Monday Journal.