Tim Groothuis/Witters Sport via US PRESSWIRE | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Troy Wayrynen
USMNT all-time leading scorer Landon Donovan criticized Christian Pulisic's World Cup performance
United States men’s national team star Christian Pulisic is being roundly criticized by the American soccer landscape for his performance at the 2026 World Cup. Pulisic is taking heat from the media, fans, and even former players — including Landon Donovan.
Former USMNT striker and captain Carli Lloyd hasn’t been shy about her criticism of Christian Pulisic, as she specifically named-checked him as being a “disappointment” during the postgame show following the USMNT’s 4-1 loss to Belgium in the Round of 16. Lloyd then doubled down by calling out Pulisic’s comments about getting rest now that the World Cup is over on social media.
Landon Donovan questioned Christian Pulisic’s decision to skip the Gold Cup to get healthy only to then have a poor club season and World Cup
While former men’s national team striker and all-time leading scorer (tied with Clint Dempsey) Landon Donovan wasn’t as harsh in his criticism on Pulisic, he did question the 27-year-old’s decision to skip the Gold Cup last summer to be healthy for the season and the subsequent World Cup, only to then struggle with injuries during said World Cup and pull himself from the Belgium match after just 60 minutes.
“He took the time off from the Gold Cup so that he’d be ready for this season. And he would be fit and healthy and firing on all cylinders. And the reality is, he scored one goal since December,” Donovan said on the podcast he hosts alongside Tim Hoard, Unfiltered Soccer.
“He’s not played well for the National Team. He’s not played well for Milan… outside of that first 45 minutes against Australia, I thought he was excellent. And he was pretty good against [Paraguay] too. And then he’s been injured… In the end, he’s your best player, he’s your star player and it just didn’t happen for him.”
Landon gives his perspective on Christian Pulisic’s World Cup.
“He took the time off from the Gold Cup so that he’d be ready for this season. And he would be fit and healthy and firing on all cylinders. And the reality is, he scored one goal since December. He’s not played well… pic.twitter.com/jt6EmefczK
— Unfiltered Soccer (@UnfilteredSoccr) July 8, 2026
In addition to pulling himself out of the game on the 57th minute, right after Belgium scored their virtually game-clinching third goal, Pulisic played just 45 minutes against Paraguay in the opener — in what was his best performance and his only goal contribution of the tournament, an assist — missed the second group stage match, a 2-0 win over Australia, and came on as a sub in the 57th minute in the third and final group stage game, a 3-2 loss to Turkiye. He did log 88 minutes in the 2-0 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina in the Round of 32.