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U.S. men's national team (USMNT) star forward Christian Pulisic acknowledged that he "has to" be more decisive in front of goal while pledging to break a frustrating scoring drought ahead of Tuesday's showdown with Portugal.
Pulisic wore a vacant expression after the final whistle of Saturday's sobering 5–2 loss to Belgium. It wasn't quite the same as his prolonged look following a 2017 defeat to Trinidad and Tobago, which eliminated the USMNT from 2018 World Cup qualifying early in his career.
Yet, it carried echoes of that moment. Nearly nine years later, he was more seasoned, more hardened and slightly less burdened. A day after suggesting that reporters in the room "want [him] to feel the pressure," and covering his ears at a press conference, he once again found himself consumed by defeat.
Despite a recent run of form featuring a five-game unbeaten streak in which the USMNT claimed four victories, the Stars and Stripes crumbled against Belgium in front of more than 60,000 fans on Saturday, conceding five goals in a match plagued by defensive breakdowns and organizational lapses, including a kit color clash.
"We played well for large portions of the game, but then it comes down to fine margins. We have to be a bit more clinical," Pulisic said, acknowledging the team must sharpen up against Portugal on Tuesday. "Overall, it's a tough result for us, but I don't feel like it was necessarily a 5–2 game. There are some positives we can take from it, but there are definitely things we need to work on."
Pulisic's Goalscoring Promise
Pulisic failed to get on the scoresheet and missed the target with all three of his attempts from the left wing of a 4-2-3-1 formation — a return to a former club position — having featured primarily as a second striker for AC Milan this season.
The positional adjustment left him without a goal for the 14th consecutive game across club and country, extending a slump that has seen him register just a single assist in 2026. In a USMNT shirt, he hasn't found the net in eight appearances, stretching back to a November 2024 strike against Jamaica.
So, he made a pledge — he's going to score, and soon — after reportedly telling manager Mauricio Pochettino: "I need to score," earlier in the week, according to The Athletic's Henry Bushnell.
"For me, it's disappointing," Pulisic said after the match. "I feel I could have done better on at least one of those chances."
"It's been a difficult stretch, but I feel confident in how I'm playing ... I feel good, and I'm generating chances. I just have to stay positive and keep pushing, but I need to be more clinical when those moments arrive."
Before the match, Pochettino expressed no concern over his most influential player's output, choosing instead to highlight the positive contributions Pulisic had made since opening the 2025–26 season with 10 goals in the first half of the campaign, prior to the current lean spell.
"Christian is playing. And of course, he's not scoring; but for me, it's not only [about scoring] goals," Pochettino said of his performances with the Serie A giants. "For me, I am happy with him in the way that he's performing, in the way that he's committed with the team, and in the time that he's playing."
A Last Chance Against Portugal
While Saturday served as a stark reminder of how much ground the USMNT still needs to cover to compete with the world's elite, they will have a chance to revive their pre-World Cup ambitions on Tuesday, facing No. 5-ranked Portugal back at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Expected to debut the navy blue Stars kit following the controversial color clash with Belgium's similar strip, the match will also serve as the final fixture before Pochettino's World Cup squad announcement, anticipated in mid-May.
Unlike many other nations, he has chosen to name the full 26-man roster ahead of June friendlies against Senegal and Germany, aiming to spare players the anxiety of last-minute decisions.
While Pulisic faces no real threat of being left off the squad, the team will need him to step up and lead from the front. After a 5–1 defeat to Colombia before the 2024 Copa América, Pulisic delivered a standout display in the subsequent friendly, helping the U.S. draw 1–1 with Brazil — the team's last positive result against a top-15-ranked nation.
He'll need to channel that same hunger and determination against a Cristiano Ronaldo-less Portugal. If he and the USMNT fall short, anxieties will only intensify in the final 73 days counting down to the World Cup.
"We came back with a really strong performance against Brazil," Pulisic told The Athletic on Saturday. "That's what we're gonna do [now]. It's all we can do. We can take what we struggled with today, watch a little bit of video, and we're gonna improve, and that's it."