Christian Pulisic counting on team effort to advance USMNT World Cup dream

Christian Pulisic scored the game-winning goal against Iran this past Tuesday, injuring himself in the process. His status is “day to day,” but he’s doing everything in his power to be ready to play this weekend.

As he told media after each group stage game: for him, the job’s not done.

Pulisic had the assist on Weah’s goal against Wales, playing a pivotal role in creating that opportunity. Against England he was named Man of the Match. And against Iran, he got the goal, the desperation goal, the one needed to bring the US to this moment.

Big moment goals scored in a World Cup live on in the lexicon of national memory. And there are few, if any, that live as legendary as Landon Donovan’s last second put away against Algeria in 2010.

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Christian Pulisic met with media in Doha today to relive his own special moment against the Iranians. Media reminded Pulisic of Donovan’s incredible moment in South Africa, saving the day in the final seconds of a must win match.

Is that the weight of the goal against Iran, we wondered. “Now that you’ve had that moment, that first big moment, how do you feel about that?”

Immediately, he demurred. “Feels great to score in a World Cup, Timmy knows what that’s like”, he says, nodding to Tim Weah at his side.

After a pause: “I’m hoping I haven’t had that moment yet, to be honest. I’m hoping it’s in front of me.”

The job’s not done.

Pulisic has been an important piece in Berhalter’s well-running machine all through the group stage. But everywhere along the way, reflecting on each achievement, after each match, he’s said the same: we have more to do here.

And for him, personally? He’s hoping that big moment is still to come.

U.S. fans are in for a treat if that’s true.

He described his first World Cup goal, his current big moment. “I saw Weston [McKennie] play a great ball over the top. And an opportunity was there to beat the defender to the ball [from Sergiño Dest]. And I was just able to do that. And, you know, pay the price for it a bit. I took a knee — you can see the videos — to a nice pelvis area. It’s not nice. But obviously very painful. But yeah, feeling better, doing better.”

Pulisic collapsed in pain as the ball went in, deprived of any celebration. He calls the moment confusing. He knew the ball had gone in, but as his teammates kept their distance and tried to make sure he was okay, he was concerned the goal was offside: “You never know nowadays.”

Though he gritted his way through the rest of the half, he left the stadium soon after. Pulisic was brought to the hospital for scans, where he was diagnosed with a pelvic contusion. He’d scored the goal, but the match was still going on. His emotions were going haywire. As he was getting checked out, he kept track of the game on Harris Patel’s phone, the trainer that went with him.

He calls the experience a blur, laughing as he recalls watching the second half while they measured his blood sugar levels. “I think they were checking my blood sugar and everything, I was flying through the roof. But it wasn’t because of anything. It was just me stressed watching the game.”

Pulisic spoke with media before US training Thursday evening at Al-Gharafa, saying he’d meet again with the training staff and see how he was feeling. It wasn’t determined yet whether he’d train that night. He added, though, he’d work with that same medical team to do everything possible to be ready on Saturday.

The team will certainly want him. But they won’t need him as desperately as US teams have in the past. There’s plenty of talent on this squad now, and more than a few players are ready to fill in. Take for example Philadelphia’s homegrown Premier League man, Brenden Aaronson.

“When I went down and I see Brenden running on the pitch,” Pulisic said of the former Union player. “You know, I’m not worried at all.”

Pulisic described the ability, talent, and character of this team and how it’s taken the pressure off him, no matter the spotlight: “This team helps me so much to take the pressure off of me. Honestly, more so a couple of years ago, I felt like, I need to do more. But with these guys, I don’t feel that way at all, to be honest. I know they have my back.”

This Saturday will be a momentous occasion. The team could rise to meet it. A victory would take the team to another level of World Cup success, one they’ve rarely met, and not since 2002. Should they do that, they’d meet a team like Argentina in the quarterfinals.

» READ MORE: Will U.S. star Christian Pulisic play in Saturday’s World Cup game? How team doctors will evaluate his injury.

For many fans and pundits, the main task has been achieved. The team has qualified for the Round of 16 in a World Cup— no small task. But the team has their eyes set on something bigger. For Pulisic and his teammates, the job’s not done.