CONCACAF
Official: Pulisic will not start against Mexico national team
The coach of the United States men’s national team, Gregg Berhalter, confirmed on Thursday that Christian Pulisic will not start against Mexico.
Prior to the November international window, the manager of Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel, sent a message to the USMNT about being cautious with Christian Pulisic’s minutes. Tuchel said that the 23-year-old still felt pain in his ankle and he should not play a lot after an almost two-month recovery.
Pulisic to start from the bench against Mexico
The United States men’s national team will host Mexico on Friday at TQL Stadium on matchday seven of CONCACAF's World Cup qualifiers. The USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter spoke prior to the match and he confirmed that Pulisic will not start against 'El Tri'.
The Chelsea playmaker returned last week after recovering from his ankle injury and he played a total of 21 minutes in two games. He has not reached full fitness and he is expected to play at least 30 minutes against the Mexican national team on Friday in Cincinnati.
"He's been training for four days [with Chelsea], and common sense is going to tell us 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," Berhalter said. "I understand Tuchel's concern. Our idea wasn't to play him for 180 minutes on this trip anyway. He's not going to start [Friday]."