​Nearly all of the former American soccer stars in sports media this week turned their attention to USMNT phenom Christian Pulisic following a disappointing World Cup exit, and FS1’s Colin Cowherd appears to be reveling in the backlash. Although reports later confirmed that Pulisic suffered a bone bruise and a microfracture in his knee during Monday’s defeat to Belgium, the retired players still directed their critique at him. On Fox, Carli Lloyd didn’t hold back immediately after the game, delivering a pointed jab at Pulisic. Landon Donovan, speaking on his podcast, criticized Pulisic for asking to be subbed out and claimed there was growing fatigue toward the star winger within U.S. Soccer. Former MLS striker Taylor Twellman expressed concerns about Pulisic’s inconsistent dedication to the national team during a radio appearance.
On Thursday’s episode of The Herd, Cowherd argued that it’s healthy to critique a soccer star like Pulisic in the same hard way that top NFL quarterbacks often face, later labeling American soccer media as “soft.” “American soccer star Christian Pulisic, the knives are out. Pulisic making sure everyone hears that he’s injured, it’s just fantastic,” he declared. Cowherd suggested that America may have truly arrived as a soccer nation only when it begins to target a player like Pulisic with scorn, joking that the country would eventually “crush” other high-profile athletes in analogous fashion: “This is what happens in England when you don’t get it done at the World Cup. That’s what happens in Brazil and Argentina. I’ll tell you [when] we’ve arrived, [when] we’re beating up on Christian Pulisic. I’ll be the first one to say it. It’s healthy. We crush Caleb Williams, we crush Patrick Mahomes, we crush Joe Burrow.”
Cowherd acknowledged that the story shifted somewhat once details of Pulisic’s injury came to light, but he maintained that Pulisic deserved some degree of criticism for his performance prior to those revelations. “Nobody’s denying he’s hurt, but before the injury, there was disappointment,” he said. “Do I think if Christian Pulisic scored seven goals in the World Cup, this would come out? No, I don’t. But Pulisic has been our best soccer player, arguably, in the country, for six, seven years… and maybe our best ever. So this is part and parcel to what happens if you go to a World Cup and you’re a no-show.”
In the closing stretch of the discussion, Cowherd also directed a critique toward American soccer media, commending Lloyd and Donovan for taking the lead in holding Pulisic accountable when much of the usual commentary hasn’t. “Because our soccer media is a little soft and precious and too often panders like our NBA media too often does, it’s taken actual soccer players to lower the boom,” he said. While Cowherd’s assessment rings true to some observers, it also underscores a larger point: the landscape of U.S. soccer coverage is shaped by a mix of studio hosts, print journalists, and former players—an arrangement that differs from the dynamics seen in other American sports. This distinction remains a factor in how criticism is delivered and received, particularly when a prominent figure like Pulisic faces intense scrutiny after a disappointing World Cup.