Christian Pulisic is in the form of his life at AC Milan - now is the time to take the USMNT to new heights

For large stretches of his time at Chelsea, the U.S. men's national team was Christian Pulisic's escape. Times were tough at club level, but no matter how tough those times got, the USMNT welcomed him in with open arms. During the most frustrating periods, the USMNT was there to lift Pulisic up and give him the boost needed to go back to west London with something resembling confidence.

So often, Pulisic arrived at national-team camp needing those boosts. It must have felt like he was always playing catch-up, always out to prove that what was going on at his club wasn't impacting him. Because of that, it's fair to wonder if we haven't really seen the best version of Pulisic in a USMNT shirt. It's been a long time since he arrived in camp with spirits high and a bit of momentum to build-on.

Well, that's what we're getting now. Pulisic is tearing apart Serie A with AC Milan, having emerged as arguably the Rossoneri's best player this season. He's scoring at a ridiculous rate, providing big goals in big moments for one of the world's biggest clubs.

And now he arrives with the USMNT heading into another big moment. The CONCACAF Nations League finals are here, and with them the chance to make it three straight titles in the region. The Copa America looms, too, giving Pulisic another crack on the world's stage as the leader of the USMNT.

First up is this CONCACAF Nations League semifinal against Jamaica. And this match, as well as the final or third-place game after it, could very well give us a glimpse of what's to come from a fit, firing and confident Pulisic later this summer.