Why isn’t Christian Pulisic playing for USMNT against New Zealand?

The United States are looking to bounce back from the disappointing defeat to Canada on Saturday and interim head coach Mikey Varas has made several key changes for the visit of New Zealand.

Of the five changes from Saturday’s team, the absence of captain Christian Pulisic is the most notable.

Pulisic, still only 25 years old, has made 72 appearances for the national team and is frequently hailed as the most talented player of his generation. After a career-best season with AC Milan in 2023/24 a lot was expected of Pulisic ahead of the Copa América but his US side were eliminated in the group stages.

He is not thought to be suffering from any injury and was named on the bench for the New Zealand game. Pulisic’s place in the team is secure in the long term, but Varas is eager to rotate his squad and give alternatives a chance.

Varas opts for Pepi, Wright and Balogun

One of the most pressing issues facing incoming head coach Mauricio Pochettino is to decide which of USMNT’s attacking options should start up front. Folarin Balogun, Haji Wright and Ricardo Pepi are all battling it out for one starting berth, or are they?

On Tuesday Varas pulled a surprise by naming all three forwards in the team, seeming to move away from the 4-2-3-1 that USMNT deployed under Gregg Berhalter. This would suggest a switch to a two-man strikeforce, with either Pepi or Wright fielded elsewhere.

Without Pulisic in the team and the likes of Timothy Weah and Gio Reyna out of action, the US’ attacking options are limited for the New Zealand game. Varas’ spell in charge of USMNT will conclude with Tuesday’s match but he will hope that he can help set the foundations for Pochettino to get the best out of a talented crop of players.