The U.S. Men’s National Team closed off its 2025 fixtures with a stellar run of form, going undefeated in five straight matches against World Cup-caliber teams from around the globe.
It was a heartening turnaround for a team that began its year in shambles after losing to Panama and Canada in quick succession in March.
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino led the charge. He broke the team down, built it back up and taught it to play as a belief-driven collective. And he did all of it without the help of some of his biggest stars: players like Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah and Malik Tillman spent much of the fall injured and missed most of the team’s unbeaten run.
All three are finally fit once again. Here’s what they’ve been up to with their club teams … and what the USMNT might gain from their return.
Christian Pulisic, AC Milan
The last time we all saw USMNT talisman Christian Pulisic starting a game, he was getting the stuffing kicked out of him by a spiky Australia team with a chip on its shoulder. That was five long weeks ago, and it led to him missing hours of Serie A play (and two crucial USMNT friendlies) while he healed from the beating.
Before that violent Australia game, Pulisic was one of the most productive players in Serie A, with four goals and two assists to his name in just 344 minutes on the field. He picked right back up where he left off on his Serie A return, scoring the game-winning goal in the Milan derby to lift AC Milan up to second in the Italian table.
Pulisic can gild the lily a bit when he finds the ball on the edge of the opposition penalty box, but this goal was a true poacher’s effort, the kind of play Milan legend Pippo Inzaghi would’ve applauded.
It’s great to see Pulisic thriving again. It’s even better to see him finding the back of the net without all that fuss and filigree.