USMNT
Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey see Christian Pulisic surpassing their legacy with the USMNT
The USMNT’s two top scorers talked about Christian Pulisic and his path to becoming a USMNT legend.
Christian Pulisic is going through a fine spell in his career and after leaving Chelsea and joining AC Milan, the USMNT captain seems to be slowly getting back to his best.
In Serie A with Milan, Pulisic has four goals and two assists in 10 appearances for the Rossoneri, a fact that will undoubtedly benefit the USMNT ahead of the Concacaf Nations League games in which the US will look to book their place in the next Copa America.
Speaking to CBS Sports Golazo’s ‘Kickin it’, all-time top scorers and USMNT legends Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey said the 2026 World Cup will be the litmus test for Pulisic to become a team legend.
Both Donovan and Dempsey scored 57 goals with their country. Pulisic has scored 28 goals for the USMNT to date.
2026 World Cup could make Pulisic a USMNT legend
For Donovan and Dempsey, however, what would catapult Pulisic into legendary status will be what he does at the 2026 World Cup on home soil, where the US are looking to make history.
“You have no bigger opportunity than the 2026 [World Cup]. If you do it there on such a great level, you’ll forever be a legend. Even though you’ve done a lot, if you do it on home soil in front of everybody when they’re watching, to take it to another level here in the States,” Dempsey explained on CBS.
Likewise, Dempsey assured that the big challenge ahead for Pulisic is to surpass what the 2002 generation achieved in a World Cup, reaching the quarter-finals, so Pulisic’s goal with this generation is to reach the semi-finals.
“You have to get to the knockout rounds, but get further than Landon and Beasley did in the quarter-finals in 2002. You have to get to the semifinals or get to a final,” Dempsey added.
Big opportunity for Pulisic and USA
Donovan backed up what Dempsey said and added that if Pulisic achieves an accomplishment like the one explained by the former Fulham player, then the Milan man can be considered a step above the two of them as legends.
“The opportunity is five to ten times bigger than anything any of us ever experienced. So if he does it there [2026 World Cup], if he has an iconic goal in the tournament or the team does really well, yes, he’ll surpass everything we did,” Donovan said.