Pulisic is back — and the USMNT needed it

The man they needed back

There is a version of this USMNT without Pulisic that still has quality — Gio Reyna, Tyler Adams when fit, a midfield that can compete — but there is no version of it that carries the same weight in the final third. Pulisic is the player opponents plan around. He is the one who makes defenders decide. His absence from the starting lineup, however briefly, was the story; his return is a bigger one.

The calf injury had raised the obvious questions about timing and availability for the knockout stages, but both ESPN FC and Goal confirmed he is in the XI for Bosnia-Herzegovina. No detail has emerged on how long he was sidelined or the severity of the knock — only that he is ready, and that the coaching staff have seen enough to start him in a match the USA cannot afford to lose.

What his presence actually changes

Bosnian defenders will know exactly what Pulisic can do. He has spent the last two seasons at Milan proving he is not just a USMNT talisman by default — he is a genuine top-level attacker, direct, two-footed, capable of the moment that changes a game. In a knockout tie, where margins are everything and a single piece of individual quality can be the difference, having him available rather than watching from the bench is not a small thing.

The weight of expectation on him is real. This is a home World Cup — the kind of tournament a generation of American footballers has been building towards — and Pulisic is the face of it. He will know that. He will also know that the round of 32 is where tournaments end for teams who freeze, and where they begin for teams who don't.