When the United States squares off against rival Mexico on Friday night, the team's biggest star will not be part of the starting 11. Christian Pulisic is listed as a substitute instead of a member of the starting lineup.
The decision was made earlier in the week, but the United States officially released its starting lineup an hour prior to Friday night's kickoff, and it does not include Pulisic. Head coach Gregg Berhalter plans to bring him in off the bench.
The casual fan may be wondering where the young United States star is when the ball is kicked off.
The answer? Pulisic has missed significant time recently with injury. The Chelsea star injured his ankle against Honduras back on September 8 and didn't make it back on the field until last week for Chelsea's game against Malmo.
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel made it clear to Berhalter he hopes the United States doesn't "overuse" him, according to the AP. Berhalter thought it was a "strange" quote.
“It was kind of strange to hear that text come out from Tuchel, because we use common sense,” Berhalter said. “Christian was back training for three days before these games—before the game that he played for the first time in Malmö. And then—that was a midweek game on Wednesday, I think—and then I think he got another maybe day of training before the next game against Burnley, so he’s been training for four days.
“And common sense is going to tell us that you can’t start a guy in a game like this when he’s only been training for four days and he’s been out for two months. So I understand Tuchel’s concern. Our idea wasn’t to play him 180 minutes in this trip anyway. He’s not going to start tomorrow. Hopefully, he’ll get some playing time, we’ll put him on the field and he can make an impact, help us get the result that we want.”
Friday's matchup is key in World Cup qualifying for both sides. Mexico, atop the CONCACAF qualifying table, is looking to remain undefeated The United States sits three points behind, and a win for the Americans would even things up through seven games.
The United States is also scheduled to take on Jamaica on November 16. That game will take place in Kingston, Jamaica.
Friday night's contest, to be played at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, will kick off at 9:00 p.m. ET.
