Christian Pulisic admits that it was Mason Mount who first called him after the United States and England were drawn in World Cup Group B alongside Iran and then either Wales, Scotland, or Ukraine. The American has found it hard to find a consistent run of form for Chelsea over the past year due to injury.
However, the 23-year-old USMNT captain manages to place the expectations of his country on his shoulders and performs when relied upon. Having won the Gold Cup last year with a 1-0 win over rivals Mexico, the United States will be looking to qualify from their World Cup group along with group favourites England.
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Pulisic spoke to Sky Sports about the draw stating “Of course playing against England is exciting. It’s funny you know, the first call I got was from Mason on my team and we’re already talking, excited, looking forward to the game”.
“It’s obviously a big team (England) and I know a lot of these guys but I think it’s a really nice match up and something that we’re definitely excited about”.
Unlike his American counterpart, Mason Mount continues to go from strength to strength in this current Chelsea set-up with a combined 15 G/A’s in the Premier League and 3 G/A’s in his last 6 England matches. England’s strength and depth is universally known at this point having reached the Euro’s final last summer and the World Cup semi-finals three years before.
Yet the USMT has been steadily improving over the last decade, with talented youngsters eager to make their mark on the European game now dominating the side, it could only be a matter of time before the United States begin to compete at a higher level. Gio Reyna, Zak Steffan, Timothy Weah, Ricardo Pepi, Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic are all highly gifted players with the ability to cause teams serious problems. Gareth Southgate will have to be alert to these dangers to avoid any potential upsets.
Having not qualified for the last world cup, Pulisic’s USMNT will be under pressure to perform given the quality within the side. It will be up to Mason Mount and the rest of the England team to continue the relatively smooth, if slightly uninspiring, football under Gareth Southgate.
