During a friendly against Italy on Tuesday, Christian Pulisic recorded a pretty special achievement, although it’s also something of a non-event: At the age of 20 years and 63 days, he became the youngest captain in the history of the USMNT. Pulisic eclipsed the previous mark set by Landon Donovan, who led out the side at the age of 22 years and 220 days.
The U.S. men’s national team was outplayed by England on Thursday at Wembley Stadium in London. The Three Lions deserved their 3-0 win, with two quick-strike goals in the first half proving the difference. But Christian Pulisic vs England might’ve been the highlight of the match, particularly eight seconds of love in the second half.
We haven’t seen Christian Pulisic in a USMNT jersey since the 3-0 victory over Bolivia back on May 28, when we were given a tantalizing look at the attacking combination play between himself, Tim Weah and Josh Sargent.
Borussia Dortmund is through to the DFB-Pokal Round of 16 after defeating second-division side Union Berlin 3-2 Wednesday. 20-year-old American Christian Pulisic scored the opener, assisted on Max Philipp’s second and then earned the penalty that Marco Reus converted for Dortmund’s third.
We can only speak for ourselves here at The18, but we’d grown a little terrified of late, and we’re not talking about the culmination of binging The Haunting of Hill House ’til Halloween night.
If you’re like me, your FIFA Career Mode has played out in a similar vein for the last decade: (1) Select your favorite Premier League club. (2) Sign one or two big names for the starting XI (get in here, Daniele De Rossi, son of Rome). (3) Load the bench with Americans and create compelling backstories in your own head about how Jordan Morris is ready to take his chance against Macclesfield Town in the Carabao Cup second round.
Christian Pulisic started on the right wing and put in a strong performance in Borussia Dortmund’s impressive 4-0 rout of Atlético Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday. On Saturday, he started on the bench and watched as two more Jadon Sancho goals were scored by the right winger, putting added pressure on the young American, who could see his playing time increasingly limited.
A fascinating tactical battle between Lucien Favre’s Bundesliga-leading Dortmund and Diego Simeone’s Atletico (currently averaging 0.55 goals conceded per game in LaLiga) was bossed by the home side at the Westfalenstadion on Wednesday, BVB putting four past Europe’s misers while limiting the visitors to only two shots on frame.
Achraf Hakimi registered a hat-trick of assists while the moves were finished by Axel Witsel, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Guerreiro (x2). Marco Reus wasn’t on the scoresheet, but his deployment in the false nine role murdered Atletico’s shape.
For those who weren’t watching the U.S. tie Peru or Chile beat Mexico (or maybe even the baseball playoffs? lol jk), the NBA season began with a couple games on Tuesday night. It got us thinking about footballers playing basketball, because everything we relate everything in the world back to soccer.
For the first time ever, the gala for the Ballon d’Or will also include a presentation for the inaugural awarding of the Kopa Trophy — a prize given to the world's best under 21 player, so really just another Golden Boy because we really need more individual prizes in this sport, don’t we?
Regardless, the 10 finalists for the prize include:
Borussia Dortmund climbed to second in the Bundesliga table — just two points behind leader Bayern Munich following its surprising draw with Augsburg on Tuesday — after thumping Nurnberg 7-0 at the Westfalenstadion on Wednesday.
Since returning from a muscular injury, Christian Pulisic has been at his best for BVB, scoring in back-to-back matches before assisting on Dortmund’s first goal on Wednesday.
The American winger went on an impressive run before carving open Nurnberg’s backline with a sensational pass for Jacob Bruun Larsen’s opener.