Christian Pulisic breaks silence on his relationship with USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino

In his return to the United States men’s national team, Christian Pulisic addressed his relationship with Mauricio Pochettino.

After a six-month absence, Christian Pulisic returned to action for the United States men’s national team during the September international break. His comeback ended months of speculation surrounding his relationship with Mauricio Pochettino, following the head coach’s decision to leave him out of the friendlies ahead of the 2025 Gold Cup. Now, the forward has spoken out.

“There’s probably not as much drama as you guys think there is,” Pulisic said, according to The New York Times, during a post-match press conference after the United States’ friendly against Japan on Tuesday at Lower.com Field. “Probably what you guys experience, and what the media sees, is not exactly what we experience. Things are good.”

When asked whether he had the chance to speak privately with the coach in recent days, Christian was clear. “Yeah, we have good conversations, honestly,” he said. “We spoke, we had a normal camp, and everything is good between us, good between the team.”

Pulisic’s comments echoed those of Pochettino, who downplayed their past differences last week. “We all made a mistake in some time, because we read the situation in a different way. The most important is that when you are intelligent people, if we want to move on and do the right things — I want to be intelligent,” the coach said. “For me, it’s in the past.”

How was Pulisic’s return to the USMNT?

Despite missing the 2025 Gold Cup, Pulisic remains a key figure in Mauricio Pochettino’s plans. That was evident during the September international break, where the forward started both friendly matches.

On Saturday, Pulisic played the full 90 minutes in the USMNT’s 2-0 loss to South Korea in New Jersey. He was one of three creative players behind Josh Sargent, alongside Diego Luna and Tim Weah. Of that group, the AC Milan star was the only one who wasn’t subbed off during the match.

And on Tuesday, Christian was once again in the starting lineup. This time he played as a winger in a front three with Alejandro Zendejas and Folarin Balogun. Pulisic logged 66 minutes before being replaced by Jack McGlynn.

Pulisic is happy to be back with the USMNT

Following the win over South Korea, Christian Pulisic spoke about what it meant to wear the national team jersey again. “I mean, it’s been good,” he said. “I love this team. It’s everything to me. I’ve been here for quite a long time. Getting to see some new guys, getting to bond with some old players.”

Finally, the Milan forward shared his thoughts on the challenges of playing for the USMNT: “Obviously, national team can be tough, because you don’t spend day to day together. So, I think, in the camps, we’ve come in, got to know each other, and (we’re) starting to learn each other, learn the team, and how we can both help each other as best we can to go forward and try to win. So, I’d say it’s good.”