Sydney Leroux is the latest member of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team to take aim at Christian Pulisic over his early exit at the World Cup. She played through a severe injury.
Why can’t he?
The American side’s disappointing result at the international soccer tournament has been analyzed from all angles. Much of the heat falls on the shoulders of its biggest star.
Christian Pulisic suffered a microfracture and bone bruise at the World Cup.
It looked like the United States had a legitimate chance to play the spoiler through its first four games at the World Cup on home soil. Even Zlatan Ibrahimovic said the Americans were playing well enough to win the whole thing if that trend continued.
Well, the trend did not continue. A political conflict overshadowed the Round of 16 and Belgium put a whooping on the U.S. It looked like Mauricio Pochettino’s second-half adjustments were working until Matt Freese kicked the ground in the in the 57th.
Christian Pulisic also took himself out of the game two minutes later. The injury-prone 27-year-old kicked a Belgian opponent in the back of the leg. He tried to stay on the pitch before he called for a sub but struggled with a visible limp and could not go on.
His decision to exit the biggest match of his life drew immediate criticism from fans and analysts alike. Carli Lloyd did not hold back her thoughts on Pulisic’s performance throughout the entire World Cup, and later doubled down on her disappointment with the American star. Landon Donovan, who has a long-standing beef with the Pulisic family, was equally as vocal with his frustrations.
As it would turn out, Christian Pulisic suffered a bone bruise and microfracture to his tibia during the loss so the substitution was justified. Or was it?!
Sydney Leroux played through an injury,
Sydney Leroux scored 35 goals in 77 appearances for the United States Women’s National Team. She won a gold medal at the Olympics in 2012 and won the World Cup in 2015.
The 36-year-old had a lot to say about Christian Pulisic. More specifically, Leroux was shocked to hear him say after the loss to Belgium that “now he gets to rest.”
She would never say that.
Nor would she rest during the World Cup.
In no world does Leroux think he should be focused on rest or outside competition.
In her opinion, the World Cup is like the Super Bowl.
Seeing that the women have won four World Cups and the men have never advanced past the Round of 16, she does not really care how her opinion presents to others.
All of the above posts were made public prior to the official injury diagnosis. Leroux did not know Christian Pulisic suffered a bone bruise or microfracture when she shared her thoughts after the match. However, she stands by what she said.
Emily Carter shared her “two cents” on TikTok.
Leroux commented on the video about her own experience with injury — after the full diagnosis was released — and applied the same thinking to Pulisic.
“I played through a broken ankle for over a year and I broke my rib in half and played the rest of the game. I had 2 babies and trained a couple weeks later. This is the biggest game of your life. Tape it up.”
Message received. She stands by her criticism.
However, it should be noted that Leroux took extended time off from the sport for her own mental health at 35 years old. It is not an apples to apples situation but it is important context.
It should also be said that Leroux’s decision to play through the broken ankle eventually required her to get surgery that kept her off of the field for an extended period of time. That, too, is an important note.
Nevertheless, Sydney Leroux is the latest member of the United States Women’s National Team to take issue with Christian Pulisic and the subsequent fallout from his injury at the World Cup. She thinks he should’ve kept playing. He looked forward to rest.