USMNT's World Cup campaign ended in a 1-4 loss against Belgium in the round of 16. The AC Milan forward, Christian Pulisic was part of the American national team's starting lineup before being forced off the pitch in the 59th minute due to an injury.
After the elimination from the World Cup, the AC Milan player had the following to say:
"I just totally twisted my ankle and my knee in one play. I mean, whatever. I have time to rest. It's just unfortunate way to finish."
Pulisic finished the World Cup with zero goals and one assist...
"I felt really good this summer with the guys and I thought my level was high," he told ESPN. "Yeah, it's disappointing. I didn't quite have the moments I was hoping to and to try to help us to really push and get over this next step of beating a really good team."
"I'm disappointed with myself, of course, but I'm going to try to stay positive. I did a lot of good things and the team did as well."
Pulisic also said:
"We were really positive coming into it and there's a lot of things to be proud of this summer for sure, but it's always tough to lose like we did today. I think we put on some really good performances for sure. We made it through our group, quite dominant in fashion, and then we won the game against Bosnia. We can for sure be proud of, but I just think we want to have higher hopes than that. We want to be able to go and compete with some of the best in the world and we just still have that next step to climb, where we are close."
On the loss against Belgium:
"I wouldn't say we weren't as aggressive. Belgium had a good game plan and they played balls in behind us when we pressed and caused a lot of problems, won a lot of second balls and they were good in the boxes. That's what it comes down to and [they] were clinical."
Pulisic did take time to thank the fans who provided support to the USMNT:
"We're grateful that for the support that they gave us this summer, it really felt like they took a step up and just the support behind this, I don't know, it felt incredible," he said. "So those memories all keep with me forever having a World Cup in the U.S. so we're just grateful for that support."
Now, it's time to rest and then start focusing on the new season with AC Milan, who have hired Ruben Amorim to replace Massimiliano Allegri...
"For me, it's just going and spending some time with family and forget about the game for a little bit, of course, try to get a little bit of rest. We'll be right back in a few weeks going back to preseason and back with the national team, no doubt. There's still a lot more that we want to accomplish."
