Christian Pulisic admits USMNT simply wasnt good enough in World Cup letdown

Christian Pulisic called the 2026 World Cup run a moment that “will last a lifetime,” but in the end, the U.S.men’s national team’s effort “simply wasn’t good enough.”The American soccer star addressed the national team’s effort in a post on Instagram on Wednesday afternoon, two days after the United States was eliminated from the World Cup in an ugly 4-1 loss to Belgium.

Pulisic, in particular, had a night to forget as he turned over possession of the ball 11 times in 45 minutes and left the match early due to an ankle injury. “Tough to find the words.I want to start by saying thank you to everyone who believed,” Pulisic wrote.

“The support carried us all the way through.It simply wasn’t good enough from us in the end and I wanted to deliver so much more..

I still feel blessed to be a part of this team.The memories this summer will last a lifetime.

It’s just the start for us and for this sport in America.”Since the United States’ time in the World Cup came to an end, Pulisic has faced renewed criticism over his efforts during the tournament from former USMNT players and U.S.women’s national team players. Landon Donovan said on the “Unfiltered Soccer” podcast that Pulisic’s tournament was “disappointing” and intimated that the Hershey, Pa native was not living up to the billing of a star player. Carli Lloyd said following the loss on Fox that she “didn’t see enough from him in this particular game, and really the whole World Cup.” The former USWNT World cup champ doubled down on the criticism in a social media post responding to Pulisic’s comments after the match to the network, where he said that he now has “time to rest.” “You rest when your playing career is over.

Period,” Lloyd wrote in the post. Former USWNT player Sydney Leroux also jumped on the comment, posting, “He rested the entire World Cup.” Pulisic finished the tournament with one goal and three assists in eight matches....