Christian Pulisic swerved a corner kick into the goal to give AC Milan an early lead against Club Brugge in the Champions League this week.
It’s those types of plays that have elevated the 26-year-old American winger as one of the top scorers in the world.
Pulisic now has six goals with three assists in his past 10 games for AC Milan. Pulisic became the first player to record a goal contribution in seven consecutive league matches in the top five European leagues this season, according to Opta.
He is a dynamic player who can beat defenders to create scoring opportunities or make a deft pass to put a teammate in a position to score.
“I work hard every day,” Pulisic said in his postgame comments after AC Milan beat Club Brugge 3–1 on Tuesday. “I always want to be decisive in matches. I’m very happy this year, I’m getting a lot of goals and assists, but it’s not always like that. So I'll continue like this and hope to continue scoring.”
Pulisic is also the top player for the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT), which is hosting the 2026 World Cup on its home soil with Canada and Mexico. The USMNT hired a new coach, Mauricio Pochettino, after a series of underwhelming performances under Gregg Berhalter.
Pochettino is leaning heavily on Pulisic to be the anchor of the team. Pulisic responded and had an assist in Pochettino’s debut as the new coach in a 2–0 victory over Panama.
Pulisic has publicly supported the decision to hire the Argentine coach, who had success leading some of the world’s biggest clubs, such as Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain. The team had grown stagnant and complacent under Berhalter.
“Hopefully, a culture that is willing to fight, that is willing to take risks ... win,” Pulisic said about Pochetiino after he was hired. “There [are] a lot of things that need to change. Just the mentality and the culture of the group. We have the quality, but hopefully, that’s the first thing that he is going to want to change.”
Pulisic has already established himself as one of the most prolific players in the history of American soccer. He has 72 appearances with the U.S. National Team, scoring 3o goals with 17 assists over that span. He is second in all-time assists for the USMNT, behind Landon Donovan who has 58.
Pulisic also ranks fifth on the all-time scoring list for the USMNT behind Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey, who are tied for first place with 57 goals each.
Pulisic became the first USMNT player to appear in and win the UEFA Champions League Final while playing with Chelsea in the 2020–2021 season. In July 2023, he was sold to AC Milan for $22 million. He has thrived with the Italian giant and has even learned to speak Italian.
Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport deemed Pulisic the best player in Serie A in scoring goals and creating chances for teammates.
The question is whether Pulisic can lead the USMNT to new heights. Pochettino sees that potential in the young star.
“I think he’s a fantastic player, one of the best offensive players in the world,” Pochettino said of Pulisic at a news conference earlier this month.
