Landon Donovan’s Criticism Of Christian Pulisic Can Be Disproved By One Single Video Of Fan Interaction

Christian Pulisic is the focus of well-deserved criticism after the United States lost to Belgium at the World Cup. However, the narrative about his abrasive and unfriendly personality can be disproved by one singular video.

He went out of his way to greet the fans in Chicago.

Although the American soccer star should not be let off of the hook, the heat belongs on more players than just one. It was a collective failure as a team.

Landon Donovan continues his criticism.

The United States’ loss to Belgium was extremely disappointing. Pathetic, really. A team that entered the match with a boisterous patriotic hubris got embarrassed on home soil. They fell short of expectations.

At the center of critique is Christian Pulisic, who subbed himself off with an injury during the second half. Although his early exit is now justified by the official diagnosis, his overall performance was largely underwhelming.

Women’s national team legend Carli Lloyd did not hold back her thoughts on the men or Pulisic. She later doubled down on the latter. She does not owe anyone an apology.

I don’t owe anyone an apology. My comment wasn’t about his post game interview. He skipped Gold Cup last summer because he wanted to rest and be ready for WC. He ended up resting the whole year. That’s the facts. Nothing personal against him. https://t.co/iW3iiKPUIQ

— Carli Lloyd (@CarliLloyd) July 9, 2026

Landon Donovan, who has a longstanding beef with the Pulisic family, is another vocal critic. He questioned the 27-year-old’s decision to skip the Gold Cup, called out his poor performance for club and country, and later followed up about his personality.

Landon's message to Christian Pulisic:

"This is an opportunity to help and to change your life forever. One of the biggest problems – I speak to people who are at U.S. Soccer. I speak to his sponsors. I speak to his teammates. I speak to the staff and the coaches. People are fed… pic.twitter.com/CJtGuT1JI9

— Unfiltered Soccer (@UnfilteredSoccr) July 8, 2026

Soccer analyst Lawrence Dockery shared an anecdote in support of Donovan’s latest message to Pulisc.

“I was three feet away from him in the mixed zone after the two games in Atlanta in March and he never once looked the person who asked him a question in the eye. Always at his feet or at the ceiling”

Not a great look for the United States’ biggest star. Especially considering that these kinds of things keep happening.

Christian Pulisic is a scapegoat.

First and foremost, all of this chatter surrounding Christian Pulisic lets Matt Freese off of the hook for one of the biggest blunders in international soccer history. It was not only the star forward who did not get the job done.

And, all things considered, he has not played that poorly at the World Cup.

• 2022:
  • Wales — assisted Tim Weah
  • England — shot attempt banged off of the post, played well against an elite team
  • Iran — scored the goal to sent the United States through to the knockout rounds
  • Netherlands — assisted the only goal
• 2026:
  • Paraguay — perhaps his best performance of all-time, two assists (really three but the third was an own goal)
  • Turkey — subbed on late in a return from injury, shot attempt missed just wide off of his left foot
  • Bosnia — goal called back for offside, helped his team hold on while down to 10
  • Belgium — horrible first half (for the entire team), suffered an injury

As for Pulisic’s personality, it’s not like he is some kind of monster. One specific video from the World Cup send-off match in Chicago proves that you can “get near him,” unlike what Donovan said.

Every single player on the team walked right by the fans and into the hotel upon arrival — except for one. Pulisic signed as many autographs as he could.