USMNT star Christian Pulisic out for World Cup match vs. Australia due to calf injury

U.S. star Christian Pulisic (calf) will not play against Australia on Friday in Seattle as the Americans look to stay unbeaten in the World Cup.

U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said Thursday that Pulisic is in a “much better” spot than he was last Friday, when he came off at halftime of the Americans’ 4-1 victory over Paraguay after feeling stiffness from a calf injury incurred in training.

Pulisic did not work out with his teammates earlier in the week at their base in Orange County, nor did he Thursday morning at Husky Soccer Stadium on the University of Washington campus.

The Milan winger joined his U.S. teammates for a pre-warmup huddle while wearing a compression sleeve on his calf, then went inside to do individual work in the gym.

The 27-year-old Pulisic is the most accomplished U.S. player. He helped create an own-goal by Paraguay in the opening minutes last Friday, and assisted on Folarin Balogun’s first of two goals.

His absence could hinder a team coming off its highest-scoring World Cup performance with a wave of momentum. Midfielder Cristian Roldan said the team is aware of the hype around the group and hopes to capitalize.

“What excites me is that the entire world, the entire nation is behind us,” Roldan said. “I think that they enjoyed watching us play, and at the end of the day what we want to do is inspire and motivate the next generation. … We have to build off it, and that’s the truth. We can’t just talk about it: we have to show out against Australia.”

Pochettino went with Ricardo Pepi as Pulisic’s replacement in the starting lineup. He entered the opener for Balogun in the 72nd minute, logging a shot and a duel won across eight touches.

The match against Australia begins at noon MST and can be seen on FOX.

USMNT’s Starting XI

• 24 Matt Freese
• 2 Sergiño Dest
• 3 Chris Richards
• 4 Tyler Adams
• 5 Antonee Robinson
• 8 Weston McKennie
• 9 Ricardo Pepi
• 13 Tim Ream (C)
• 16 Alex Freeman
• 17 Malik Tillman
• 20 Folarin Balogun

Pepi in for Pulisic was the only change from the Americans’ lineup against Paraguay.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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