Why isn't Christian Pulisic playing for the USMNT against Australia today? | OneFootball

The USMNT is moments away from facing Australia in their second group match. The Americans' first performance against Paraguay was extraordinary.

Now, Mauricio Pochettino's side wants to cement its dominance in the group and qualify for the next round of the World Cup, a goal that can be achieved with a win over Australia.

However, every USMNT fan wants to know whether or not Christian Pulisic will play today against Australia.

Remember that Captain America was subbed off against the Albirroja due to an injury, putting him in doubt for Friday’s game.

Is Christian Pulisic playing against Australia today?

The truth is that there are few chances that Pulisic can make it into the starting lineup. In the days following the United States' victory, Christian Pulisic trained separately from the rest of the squad due to a muscle issue.

However, yesterday, Mauricio Pochettino stated that he would announce Captain America's availability shortly before kickoff.

Without further ado, the USMNT manager confirmed that Christian Pulisic will not participate in today’s crucial game against Australia.

The issue was more than enough to keep him out, and Pochettino made it clear that they are not willing to take any risks given how long the tournament is.

Instead of Giovanni Reyna, as we had anticipated, AC Milan star Christian Pulisic will be replaced by Ricardo Pepi, the PSV striker.

If there was ever a match to rest Pulisic, this was it. The United States has enough attacking firepower to play without its No. 10, especially knowing that the Australians were always going to make it a physical battle from the opening whistle, which would have increased the risk of aggravating his injury.

With Ricardo Pepi on the field, Mauricio Pochettino could opt to change the formation and play with two strikers instead of one.

Balogun and Pepi will lead the USMNT offense; the rest of the team should remain the same, with no massive change from the debut against Paraguay.

Regardless, the USMNT has to win to secure first place and qualify for the next round, marking a new way of viewing the U.S. national team compared to previous years.