​The fact that Christian Pulisic played through a bone bruise and a microfracture in his tibia and fibula before asking to come off in the 59th minute has reframed how the media’s response to the USMNT’s elimination is being discussed, and ESPN’s Herculez Gomez isn’t letting anyone dodge accountability. “Questioning the best player they have, his commitment, when he comes out with a fractured leg—it’s beyond me,” Gomez said on Friday’s Get Up. “It’s embarrassing.” He was careful to separate his view of the team from the criticism aimed at its standout player in the days since. He has described this generation as “soft” before, and he wasn’t retracting that label, given the USMNT’s defeat to Belgium was the result of a failure to seize the moment, plain and simple. Yet, to him, there is a distinction between holding players responsible for a poor result and doubting the dedication of someone who played through a fractured leg.
“There are many ex-colleagues, maybe fans who watched this game, who have embarrassed themselves with certain takes,” he said. The fiercest criticism targeted Landon Donovan, who told his podcast audience that he would have needed to be dragged off the field and later claimed that players, staff, and sponsors surrounding the USMNT are “fed up” with Pulisic’s camp. Gomez, who shared the field with Donovan for years on the national team, suggested Donovan should better understand what Pulisic is experiencing. “I find it interesting because Landon and Christian are the same person,” he remarked. “They’re the same player. They should really understand each other. And Landon faced a situation in 2006 where he was used as one of the scapegoats for that disastrous World Cup campaign. He knows exactly what Christian Pulisic is feeling right now. So instead of attacking each other or the camps, there should maybe be some sort of coming to terms here, coming together and helping, because I think what Christian Pulisic is going through right now, he’s being used as a scapegoat for this failed World Cup.”
Gomez added that Pulisic is a star who has never fully embraced the star role, and that the fatigue of expectations that comes with commercials, sponsorships, and being the face of the program is part of the deal. But right now, before any of that, Pulisic must focus on getting healthy. “Christian Pulisic right now has to focus on being healthy,” he said. “And when he’s healthy, he has to regain the trust of America—because in front of now 50 million Americans who watched the USMNT against Belgium, he’s the face of the program.”
Not everyone is backing down. Carli Lloyd said Thursday that she doesn’t owe anyone an apology for her criticism, noting that her original comments targeted Pulisic’s preparation throughout the year, specifically suggesting he had skipped certain opportunities for better exposure and consistency.