Soccer <\/p>\n
ATLANTA \u2013 Christian Pulisic had heard enough, and understandably so.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
The US men\u2019s national team<\/a> are speeding towards perhaps the biggest occasion of their professional lives, the 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a> on home soil, where they are expected \u2013 required, in the eyes of some \u2013 to inspire an entire nation and convert any remaining doubters into soccer lovers.<\/p>\n That\u2019s quite a lot to bear, even for a squad whose core is widely considered to be their country\u2019s \u2018golden generation,\u2019 with one World Cup experience already under their belts and one of the planet\u2019s elite managers leading them. The word \u2018pressure\u2019 was uttered a whopping 16 times in the press conference featuring Pulisic and his teammate and friend Weston McKennie on Friday, one day before the Yanks battle Belgium at Atlanta United<\/a>‘s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, a weighty litmus test for the home nation\u2019s hopes (3:30 pm ET | TNT, HBO Max, Telemundo).<\/p>\n The face of the program for most of the past decade felt compelled to pump the brakes just a bit.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, you guys want me to feel the pressure, that’s for sure,\u201d deadpanned the AC Milan forward after the latest in a string of questions were posed to him on that topic. \u201cThere’s pressure. It’s a World Cup. It’s not because of my position in the team, or anything like that. I’m used to this. I wouldn’t want to be in any other position. I’m so lucky. I feel privileged to be in this position.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s pressure, I feel it. Yes, it’s there. But it’s nothing that I can’t handle. I’m going to attack it head-on. We are as a team. I don’t need to do it by myself. That’s the beauty of it. I have guys like this, I have my whole team behind me, the staff, the country of fans, and I’m just going to do the best I can. That’s all I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Pressure is a privilege. pic.twitter.com\/IYux5rIeRf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) March 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Pulisic tends to be careful, even withdrawn in front of the microphones. So this was a revealing glimpse inside the collective mindset of a group seeking to stay grounded as the hype around this huge tournament begins to crescendo in earnest.<\/p>\n As hard as he\u2019s worked to cultivate a hard, hungry edge in his squad, head coach Mauricio Pochettino hopes the team and their supporters dial up the joy rather than the demands as the moment of truth approaches, harking back to the USA\u2019s global stars in other games.<\/p>\n \u201cIn my past,\u201d said the Argentine on Friday, \u201cI watch all the sports, American sports, and the things that I really enjoy, that in all the athletes that were involved in different sports, they play free, trying to perform and to entertain and to give entertainment to the people, the fans.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you are free, you perform. When you feel happy, you perform. You don\u2019t need to feel the pressure, because the pressure is a thing that, if you don’t deal perfectly with this, it can be heavy.\u201d<\/p>\n Pochettino recalled his memories as a player on Argentina\u2019s 2002 World Cup team, when a highly touted Albiceleste side crumbled under the weight of expectations among their fanatical supporters.<\/p>\n \u201cArgentine people feel the pressure, because football is about to survive,\u201d he explained. \u201cYou start to play football because you love the game, but also, you know, to survive. And it was really an energy that was so heavy, and we didn’t deal with that. That is why the challenge is to transform \u2013 that we host the World Cup and the expectation that we have in energy, integrate amazing energy between the fans and us.<\/p>\n \u201cThe players need to feel the support, and the belief, the trust, the confidence. Say, \u2018Hey, we believe in you. We believe in you.\u2019 One thing that I told [the team] the other day is, \u2018Why not us, why not us, why not us?\u2019 We need to really believe that we can be there. We need to dream \u2013 dream, because dreams inspire reality.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Why not us? pic.twitter.com\/BNGnWKfRer<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) March 25, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n This all elevates the importance of this month\u2019s duels with European elites Belgium and Portugal that much further, because if the USMNT are to make a plausible case for being home-country Cinderellas this summer, they\u2019ll need capable showings against adversaries of this caliber.<\/p>\n \u201cWe decide to bring this type of opponent because we wanted to play against good teams, teams that can show our reality,\u201d said Pochettino, calling on his group to showcase a comparable level of quality to November\u2019s promising wins over Paraguay<\/a> and Uruguay<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cNow is the time to truly compete against others,\u201d he later said in Spanish. \u201cBelgium is a great national team, led by a great coach whom I know very well and deeply admire. It is a squad brimming with quality; the Belgian player is a technical player, one who blends physical strength with technical skill. Theirs is an agile style of football, a style that evokes many positive emotions, not least from an aesthetic standpoint \u2026 Therefore, tomorrow we will face a very difficult opponent.\u201d<\/p>\n The current USMNT grew up admiring past World Cup heroes like Landon Donovan, Tim Howard and Clint Dempsey; now they\u2019re ready to embrace their own opportunity to leave a legacy.<\/p>\n \u201cWith pressure comes responsibility,\u201d said Seattle Sounders FC<\/a> and US midfielder Cristian Roldan<\/a> this week.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cI think the responsibility that we possess at the moment is to create our own moments, create our history for the next generation, for the kiddos that are watching to be inspired to be the next Christian Pulisics, the Weston McKennies \u2026 to create those long-lasting memories for the next generation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
Dreaming big<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Massive tests<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n