'That's what I dream of experiencing' - Hajduk Split's Rokas Pukstas on his rise from Oklahoma to Croatia and chasing his USMNT moment

Long before he was starring in Croatia or thriving for the U.S. on the youth level, Pukstas was just another kid in Oklahoma. He was the son of Lithuanian immigrants, a first-generation American. And, in his mind, he was an underdog, largely because his parents never let him forget it or think otherwise.

Pukstas was born into an elite athletic family, though. His mother, Zivile Pukstiene, is a former Lithuanian triple-jump champion. His father, Mindaugas Pukstas, was a Lithuanian marathon runner who represented his homeland in the Olympics. Despite playing a variety of sports as a kid, Pukstas gravitated to soccer, though. His parents quickly saw something in that.

"When I was a younger player, playing in my local town, my dad said he saw a moment where I dribbled a few guys," Pukstas says. "He says a light came into my eyes."

The midfielder's soccer education was a broad one. His parents knew he had to play with better players, so they'd drive him around the state to play with older kids. He joined Sporting KC, trialed with Manchester United, and played for Barcelona's Residency Academy before heading to Croatia at 16.

In the summers, though, Pukstas would head to Lithuania to stay with his grandparents. He remembers playing in the street every single day from 10-4. Those three-month periods were some of the best moments of his life.

Despite it all, the Pukstas family avoided telling their son that he was talented. They didn't call him special. They didn't let him feel different. That earn it mentality was fostered early. It hasn't left him.

"It's my identity," he says. "My parents did a good job of telling me that I'm a hard worker. They instilled that identity in me.

"The worst thing I can do is be in a state of complacency. I can't expect to play or do any of these things. One of the best things for a young player is being expected to perform, and I think that's really been built into my character. It's solidified me as a player who doesn't have ups and downs; they just perform."

Pukstas has been performing particularly well recently, and it hasn't just been with goals and assists. It's been the little things, the things that influence winning. In those moments, Pukstas is a player who has made a leap.

"I find a lot of motivation in dominating duels," Pukstas says.

In a modern game where midfielders are now asked to do so much, Pukstas knows his place. Midfielders can no longer be specialists; they have to be well-rounded. It's something Pukstas takes pride in. He's someone who can play anywhere on the field. This season, he's primarily been an attacking midfielder, but last season, he was deployed as a No. 6, a No. 8, and a winger.

Wherever he plays, Pukstas loves the basic things. Much like when he was a child, he enjoys dribbling past people. He likes staring down opponents and using his physicality. too. More than anything, he likes impacting games. That's the important part.

A good example of that came in a recent 1-1 draw with NK Varazdin. In that game, Pukstas won 17 duels, an insane number even for a midfielder. In his next game against Dinamo Zagreb, he won 13 more. Those numbers tell a story. Wherever the ball is, Pukstas is likely to be there, too, either with it at his feet or in the process of getting it back.

"If a team's chasing the lead, they're going to want to launch it forward on a goal kick," he says. "I'm going to come down, and I'm going to win that ball. I think [the NK Varazdin game] was just that type of game. There was a lot of transition, and I feel like I dominate in transition, so I had a lot of moments where I could step in, read the play, and win my duels."

Pukstas isn't just muscle, though. In just under 1,700 minutes, Pukstas has chipped in seven goals for Split, second-most on the team. It's a return to form for the midfielder. He netted just once last season, after scoring eight times the season prior. If all goes well, Pukstas should set a new career-high for goals this time around.

Those goals have allowed Pukstas to solidify his place in the team. They've also helped him grow. He's no longer treated like a young player in need of nurturing, and that's something he takes pride in.

"I'm doing things I didn't do in my first couple of seasons with the first team, but I don't get that positive feedback," he says. "I'm playing more aware of the situation, so I think my next progression is to make decisions and not have that positive feedback. If I'm scoring, scoring is my job. Providing that shot is my role in the team. I feel like this season, I've improved a lot in not giving myself that positive feedback and just performing my job, being aware of the situation. I think that's going to lead to success."

Success isn't optional in Split, though. It's a demand, one Pukstas has lived with every day since he arrived as a 16-year-old prospect.

Pukstas has lived in Croatia for five and a half years now. Save for a brief 2022 loan to nearby Solin, he's spent the entirety of that time in Split. It's a big stretch when you think about it. Nearly a quarter of Pukstas' life has been lived in Croatia's second-largest city.

"It's an amazing city, especially the weather," he says. "It's right on the sea. You've got everything here. You've got mountains, the sea, weather, and great fans. It's a smaller city, but the culture is very strong here.

"I think, coming here as a 16-year-old, it always felt safe to be around. I've travelled to a lot of places. Split's my favorite."

There's something different about Split, though, when it comes to soccer. Fans are passionate, Pukstas says, and they're very direct. From the moment he arrived, even as a teenager fresh from America, Pukstas has felt that pressure to perform. At one point last season, the supporters group, Torcida Split, hopped the fence to confront players. There were about 15 fans on the field. None of those fans were particularly small, Pukstas remembers.

"I've heard stories of fans back in the day," Puksas says. "The team would be on a losing streak and, during the night, fans went to the training ground and dug 11 graves for the players... These people mean business. They're expecting us to win every weekend. It's something I've never experienced before."

Those are the standards at the club, one that counts itself among the biggest in Croatia. It's also a club that's desperate for a return to the top. Over the last 20 years, Dinamo Zagreb has gone on an unprecedented run, winning 18 titles. Hajduk Split, meanwhile, haven't won the league since 2005, although they have played European soccer every year since 2007.

Particularly in recent years, the club has really pushed to end Dinamo Zagreb's dominance, putting Pukstas into contact with some of the game's all-time greats.

Ivan Perisic is a Croatian soccer legend, with the forward starring for Inter and making 150 international caps for his national team. In 2024, he had a brief loan spell with Hajduk, but it was impactful for Pukstas. At one point, after one of the games during their one season as teammates, Perisic invited Pukstas to the cafe.

"I remember thinking, 'I'm really here with him'," he says. "He's been in a World Cup final, and I'm an 18-year-old kid...I'm the type of person who asks a lot of questions. I'm not afraid to ask questions."

Perisic is far from the only big name to walk through the doors since Pukstas arrived in Croatia. He was, at one point, managed by Gennaro Gattuso, the legendary Italian midfielder. Croatian international Daniel Subasic was there, too. Pukstas' biggest inspiration, though, has been Ivan Rakitic. Funnily enough, Rakitic has been Pukstas' biggest believer, too.

Rakitic arrived at the club in 2024. Since returning, he's become the club's technical director. During a recent interview with CBS, Rakitic was asked about the state of the USMNT. He used it as a chance to campaign for Pukstas' inclusion, not in the future but now.

“They have a lot of amazing players, and a crazy big coach," the former Barcelona midfielder said. "So now just give them time to prepare well. I think the atmosphere will be crazy. Hopefully, it will be the best World Cup in history. They have to feel free and try to enjoy football and nothing else.

"And call Rokas Pukstas to the national team!"

The moment was special to Pukstas, but not particularly surprising. He knows the type of relationship he has with Rakitic, and he knows what type of resource he has at his disposal.

"I've asked him about the World Cup because they had several great runs," Pukstas says. "I remember him telling me about the penalty shootouts, the nerves he was feeling, how everyone was stressed because they were the underdogs. They'd never done this before. Each time they progressed, they got more confident. Everyone's nervous, nobody wants to miss a penalty, and Rakitic had to say, 'Okay, I'll be first to take it', and then everyone can become confident after that.

"I don't think a lot of people have that experience. That's what I dream of experiencing. That's going to prepare me to perform when my own opportunities come."

With Rakitic campaigning for him, Pukstas' opportunities may not be too far away. The key for Pukstas isn't getting the opportunity; it's seizing it.

Pukstas doesn't mince words. He wants to play for the USMNT. He doesn't know when it'll happen, but he knows it'll happen, particularly if he continues on the path he's on. He's had his moments on the youth scene, and he treasures the bonds he's built within American soccer. Even from his home base in Croatia, he thinks about that flight over the Atlantic to put on a senior team shirt.

"My goal is to reach the men's national team and perform," he says. "I feel like that's it. Step by step, but I'm focused on that."

At the moment, Pukstas isn't quite in a hurry. He has yet to play for the senior team and wasn't named to Mauricio Pochettino's March roster, which doesn't bode well for a late World Cup run. That's fine, he says. It's better to do it right than just do it.

"I think, in a sense, it helps me because I'm still building every single weekend," he says. "If I think I deserve a call-up and I don't get it, I think about the stuff that I need to improve on and build. That then snowballs. I know that, once these opportunities arise, I'll be ready. It helps me because it makes me look inside to see what I can do better and not get complacent. If I got my chance too early and I wasn't prepared, it could never come again."

The work continues, then, to make sure that he's prepared for that chance. There are no shortcuts to take and no steps to skip. That's been Pukstas' MO since the beginning.

"I was always an underdog, and I think I've performed because there's a cycle that happens over and over multiple times," he says. "I wake up, I do red light, I do every single recovery thing after training, take extra reps. I like playing chess because it helps my mental focus. I'm continuing to try to reach higher levels, but there's a day-to-day to it. I gain confidence from knowing that I've done everything I can to prepare myself to perform."

That brings it all the way back to that YouTube video. On that day, Adriano took his chance. It was a lifetime of preparation to reach that moment. Pukstas is seeking out his moment, whatever form it takes, and when it comes, he knows he can't let it pass him by.