Why Christian Pulisic missing out on USMNT World Cup captaincy wouldn't be a big deal as Mauricio Pochettino wants '11 leaders'

Given his standing in the global game, as a superstar of Serie A with AC Milan, Pulisic remains an obvious candidate to take on leadership duties with his country. He may not be the loudest, as a reserved character, but can still inspire others with his actions.

Armbands have been passed in his direction at times - including at major tournaments, such as the 2024 Copa America - but there are plenty of others ready to lead the USMNT out of the tunnel.

Pulisic did skip Gold Cup duty in 2025, which attracted criticism from some, but said absence is not considered to have done his captaincy claims any harm - with Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching team looking for the 26-year-old to contribute in multiple departments.

Quizzed on whether Pulisic is in the skipper picture less than a year out from a home World Cup, former USMNT goalkeeper Friedel - speaking in association with legalnibukmacherzy.pl - told GOAL: “I’m not in the camp so I’m not sure if that’s who Mauricio wants as a leader. I know Mauricio really well and I know what he’ll want - he’ll want on the field to have 11 leaders.

“If you look at body language and the way Christian played against Japan, he played really well. He was quick, he caused a lot of issues. Whatever went on during that Gold Cup time and all around it, it does not look like it affected him.

“Who Mauricio will name as the captain, I don’t know. I don’t think I would look into it too much if Christian isn’t named captain. Naming a captain is different because there are a lot of off-field scenarios that go on with that. Christian is a player I don’t know well personally - I understand he’s quiet, so I don’t know if that will happen.

“I look at body language a lot with how players are after things get put in the press. What I saw from Christian was really positive. There has been a lot of negative stuff out and about, so it seems to me like things are pretty good.”

Pulisic has reached 80 caps for his country, scoring 32 goals along the way. He will be a talismanic presence for the United States next summer - fitness permitting - regardless of whether he is asked to lead from the front or not.