Christian Pulisic may be ‘Captain America’ but it will be no big deal if he is not captain of America at the 2026 World Cup, says Brad Friedel.

  • AC Milan has skippered his country at times
  • Leadership roles to be filled before major tournament
  • Pulisic committed after skipping Gold Cup duty
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  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    Given his standing in the global game, as a superstar of Serie A with AC Milan, Pulisic remains an obvious candidate to take on leadership duties with his country. He may not be the loudest, as a reserved character, but can still inspire others with his actions.

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    THE BIGGER PICTURE

    Armbands have been passed in his direction at times – including at major tournaments, such as the 2024 Copa America – but there are plenty of others ready to lead the USMNT out of the tunnel.

  • DID YOU KNOW?

    Pulisic did skip Gold Cup duty in 2025, which attracted criticism from some, but said absence is not considered to have done his captaincy claims any harm – with Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching team looking for the 26-year-old to contribute in multiple departments.

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    WHAT FRIEDEL SAID

    Quizzed on whether Pulisic is in the skipper picture less than a year out from a home World Cup, former USMNT goalkeeper Friedel – speaking in association with legalnibukmacherzy.pl – told GOAL: “I’m not in the camp so I’m not sure if that’s who Mauricio wants as a leader. I know Mauricio really well and I know what he’ll want – he’ll want on the field to have 11 leaders.

    “If you look at body language and the way Christian played against Japan, he played really well. He was quick, he caused a lot of issues. Whatever went on during that Gold Cup time and all around it, it does not look like it affected him.

    “Who Mauricio will name as the captain, I don’t know. I don’t think I would look into it too much if Christian isn’t named captain. Naming a captain is different because there are a lot of off-field scenarios that go on with that. Christian is a player I don’t know well personally – I understand he’s quiet, so I don’t know if that will happen.

    “I look at body language a lot with how players are after things get put in the press. What I saw from Christian was really positive. There has been a lot of negative stuff out and about, so it seems to me like things are pretty good.”