Christian Pulisic told to accept 'Captain America' nickname as Zlatan Ibrahimovic issues 'quiet' USMNT star with 'pressure' warning

As skipper of the USMNT, Pulisic is currently shining in Serie A with Milan, having previously enjoyed spells at Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea. As the USA's most prominent player, Pulisic has been dubbed 'Captain America' in reference to the comic book hero.

Pulisic has shied away from the moniker, though, and has spoken of the "pressure" he faced at Chelsea, but former Milan forward Ibrahimovic has encouraged him to accept his reputation and the responsibility that comes with it.

"He is known for being 'Captain America', but he doesn’t like to be 'Captain America'. He doesn’t maybe see himself like a superhero," he said to The Athletic. "He is playing low profile and with his feet on the ground. But you are 'Captain America', I don’t give a sh*t what you say, you are. If that is more pressure on you, I don’t care. It is his own fault - if you weren’t so good, we wouldn’t ask anything from you."

Milan are in action on Wednesday when they take on Crvena Zvezda in the Champions League, but will have to fight for the three points without their injured American star. The San Siro side are 17th in the table, while their Serbian opponents are 31st with just three points.