It’s now nearly two months since Christian Pulisic’s surprise absence from the USMNT roster at the Gold Cup. The tournament represented the final competitive fixture for the US team before next summer’s World Cup and Pulisic’s decision to make himself unavailable was criticized in some quarters.
His absence did at least allow Mauricio Pochettino, the USMNT coach, to test new systems and give opportunities to new players. However many, including former US stars, said publicly that Pulisic had been wrong to prioritize rest.
In a conversation with The Athletic, USMNT stalwart Tyler Adams shared his opinions on Pulisic’s absence and the states of the national team at their crucial point.
“It’s a topic that everyone wants to have an opinion on, of course, but what Christian did is what he had to do for himself,” Adams explained.
“He doesn’t have to earn the respect of anyone in the group. Everyone knows who Christian is as a person, and how good of a player he is as well. But everyone needs time in certain moments of their career or life to just say: ‘Let me take a step back, focus on myself for a second and then move forward’.
Likewise, Adams insisted that the rest of the roster did not feel that Pulisic’s absence was too keenly felt. He revealed that the team had been sympathetic of Pulisic’s decision after a grueling European season, adjudging that the Milan player’s decision was the right one looking ahead to the World Cup.
“I speak to Christian all the time. We’re obviously super close. And I just know that this summer, while he took a step away, he didn’t anticipate that there was going to be that much noise and heat around it,” he said.
“But again, everyone wants to throw his name in the gutter because it creates a big story, or it creates noise... And that’s how big of a player he is and how important of a player he is. But everyone in the team knows how important he is, what an amazing person he is.
In terms of his own position, Adams is looking to put a recent spate of injuries behind him with club team AFC Bournemouth. The Premier League side over-performed expectations last season, nearly reaching the European places, and Adams will be eager to be a part of their continued success.
“This past season gave me the confidence that I needed to now say: ‘You could take the next step. Let’s take another step in development. Take a step in pushing yourself’,” the American star said.
“Now it’s like: ‘OK, I’m back to myself, I feel like myself’,” he says. “I’ve had a nice break. I’m going to be able to get a nice preseason, and it’s go time.”