Between Christian Pulisic’s disappointing performance and FIFA’s controversial decision to allow Folarin Balogun to play against Belgium despite a red card suspension, there has been a lot of discourse about the United States’ World Cup run on FOX, which is broadcasting the tournament. However, one ESPN analyst is not happy with their analysis.As FOX studio analysts heap on criticism for Pulisic after largely supporting FIFA’s decision to overturn Balogun’s suspension, ESPN analyst Craig Burley is calling out FOX for its coverage and commentary, calling it “embarrassing.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter a disappointing showing in the World Cup despite high expectations, Pulisic has been facing some heavy criticism, with much of it coming from FOX analysts.“I’m starting to look back and … it’s more than just a trend now. It is,” FOX analyst and former USMNT star Landon Donovan said of Pulisic. “Like, when the games are easy, and it’s a home qualifier, and it’s Jamaica, yes. But in the big moments and the big games, he just hasn’t. … I’m just saying it factually. He is who he is at this point.”“This was a game where you needed him to go, ‘Give me the ball, I’m gonna stick it in the back of the net, it’s 2-2, let’s go.’ And he just didn’t. And he wasn’t even close to it,” Donovan said.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“And in fact … there’s reporting that he asked to get subbed out of the game. I can’t confirm that, so I don’t know if that’s true or not. But the reality is, he came out of a World Cup knockout game at home, with his leg still intact. Because … you would have had to [freaking] drag me off the field. And I would have punched the doctor in the face and said, ‘You’re not taking me off the field. Put whatever you need to put in me, and I’m staying on the field.’”He was joined in that criticism by former USWNT star Carli Lloyd, a fellow FOX analyst.“And in fact … there’s reporting that he asked to get subbed out of the game. I can’t confirm that, so I don’t know if that’s true or not. But the reality is, he came out of a World Cup knockout game at home, with his leg still intact. Because … you would have had to [freaking] drag me off the field. And I would have punched the doctor in the face and said, ‘You’re not taking me off the field. Put whatever you need to put in me, and I’m staying on the field.’”With all the criticism that Pulisic was receiving, ESPN analyst Craig Burley came to the USMNT star’s defense a bit.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“It seems to me it’s almost a personal attack on an individual rather than an analysis of the football that’s gone before,” Burley said on air.Burley pointed out that much of the criticism was coming from people from FOX, who “embarrassed” themselves with the way they reacted to FIFA’s controversial decision to overturn Balogun’s suspension.“It’s p
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