USMNT Announces Official Decision on Christian Pulisic for Australia Game

In a comment to reporters on Thursday, just 24 hours before a group stage game against Australia, United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino suggested it would be a longshot for Christian Pulisic to play.

“I think tonight, or the day before the game, we have a meeting with our medical area and we will assess the whole group, the players, and tomorrow we will communicate and see all the things that [we] can agree [on] tonight,” Pochettino said.

“He’s evolving. He’s much better from Friday. We’ll see. I think at the moment, if we see he’s not available for tomorrow, he will be available for the next game.”

Pochettino’s comment came after Pulisic aggravated a calf injury in the first half of the team’s impressive 4-1 win over Paraguay.

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Just 24 hours later, Pochettino confirmed that Pulisic won’t be playing at all during the contest against Australia, despite an report from earlier in the morning suggesting the U.S. star was “fully available” for the match.

The head coach confirmed to Fox Sports that Pulisic did his best to prepare for the game and feelings inside the team are positive regarding his future status for the rest of the World Cup. Pochettino admitted it was “a little bit sad” that Pulisic won’t be able to see the field as the U.S. star wanted to play for his teammates.

The United States and Australia kick off at 3 p.m. ET.

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This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 11:49 AM.