Christian Pulisic on the road ahead for the US, his sizzling performance against Senegal, and Pochettino's laptop, presented by Michelob ULTRA

0:00For nearly two decades, almost as long as Tim Ream has been in the US Men's National Team, Allstate has backed the growth of this game in every corner of this great footballing nation. From grassroots pitches to the biggest stages, they've been here, believing in it, protecting its future, because supporting soccer, it's not just about match days. And that's why Allstate offers affordable coverage at personalised rates, so you can spend less time worrying and more time watching. Check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. Visit Allstate.com or call a local agent today. Allstate, you're in good hands.

0:36Potential savings vary, subject to terms and availability. Allstate North America Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. It's Rog, here to sing my praise for a very special New Balance football boot, the 442. It's no-nonsense, workhorse midfielders and defenders, the ones who do the dirty work, but also ping a pass to perfection. It's a classic boot design with modern enhancements, with an ultra lightweight sole, synthetic microfibre material retains a soft premium in-hand feel, allowing for the lighter weight, the superior touch on the ball. Get a pair for yourself or the footballer in your family at newbalance.com slash soccer.

1:12We are delighted to bring you the Men in Blazers City Guides presented by Visa. A joyously assembled guide to the best places to eat, drink and explore and watch the beautiful game across the country. It's a guide aimed at helping fans experience the city as a local. It's built by you, our listeners, recommending some of the best small businesses in your communities. Like the finest Viet Cajun in Houston. Yes. The best burrito in San Francisco. Yes. Where to savour lemon pepper wet in Atlanta. Yes, yes, yes. A massive shout out to our sponsor, Visa, who's made this guide possible. Visa gives local business owners the tools and support to be ready for moments exactly like this one, welcoming you to enjoy the games this summer.

2:01Start planning your journey at meninblazers.com backslash cityguides. You're listening to the Men in Blazers Media Network, suboptimal radio. What was Potts showing you on his laptop in the water break? gosh I don't even know if I remember at this point it was Gio looked like he was trying not to laugh in the background it was obviously just video from the game like a certain moment how we play or how we press honestly I don't remember

2:33my guest today simply put the face of men's football in the United States a long-time symbol of a new generation of American men's possibility the player whose journey has been an alternate way of understanding the vibes around the game in our nation. In the cusp of this incredible moment for the game, the 2026 World Cup on home turf, I want to raise my third first Michelob Ultra in toast to welcome back Mr. Christian Pulisic. Thank you very much for having me. It's great to be with you. This series made possible by our great friends at Michelob Ultra. Christian, first of all, congratulations on your sizzling Senegal performance.

3:11Yes, it was just a friendly, but it felt like we all needed that. It felt like a vibe change. Yeah, it was just a really positive performance, I mean, from the guys. As a team, I thought we were, you know, really dominant in a lot of moments in that game and just great to be a part of. I loved the energy that the stadium gave us, the fans there. And it felt like there was a World Cup coming. I feel like the guys really came together and it was really nice to help the team, get a goal. and also to come out with a good result. Let's relive some of the moments. Six minutes, highlight real team move.

3:48First, Ricardo Pepe, wizard filth, bending the brains of two defenders, slip past you into space. You buzz down that byline. When you looked up, of all the people to crash the box, did you expect it would be Seginio Dest? Yeah, I mean, not necessarily. I didn't expect, but once I saw him making that run, I mean, he did exactly what he's supposed to do. He crashed the box. And all I did was put a ball right in that space. And yeah, he was there to finish it off. I think that was a goal ripped right from Seginho and you playing Messi's team in the Michelobolcher World Cup commercial. I think that's what it was.

4:26Yeah, we had some reps, you know, playing against Argentina in that commercial in the little hotel. So that chemistry really carried us through. And yeah, it was nice to see it on the big field. Three on three, and there is no stopping us. Watching those celebrations in that moment when Serginho ran to you and pointed, and you roared into the sky. It was like seeing a switch flick for this team in that moment. Also for you individually. Felt like the joy, the freedom, suddenly back. Obviously, you know, these guys are my brothers. I've been, you know, around these guys for, I mean, even Serge now for years, but also guys even longer.

5:02So it's such a special moment to be able to put on these colours together, play together and then have moments like that that's why you do it We were not done though, 20 minutes you drifted inside, loitering between Senegal centre-backs Riccardo Pepe again, leading the move, chasing the ball down the right he fed you stunningly into stride, you still have a lot to do Christian, two touches around the keeper and lashto what does it feel like first of all when that ball comes to your feet and you know you have the opponent in a world of hurt? Yeah, I mean, it was such a good play, worked up the field.

5:40Obviously, Freeman with a good connection with Pepe, him making a great run in behind. And it just felt like everything was flowing, especially in that moment. And yeah, I mean, when you see that space open up and yeah, your eyes light up and then, you know, when you're able to finish it off in that way and score, it's a great feeling. Do you think in those moments or do you just let muscle memory take over like you're a kid on the playing fields in Hershey, Pennsylvania? Yeah, honestly, in a moment like that, yeah, not much thinking. It's kind of a quick like goalkeepers coming out, touch, finish.

6:17Sometimes those ones are easier because it's all instinct for sure. Other times when you have more time or maybe you have to dribble all the way yourself and, you know, you're one on one, then you have to think a lot more than it becomes more mental. But yeah, in that moment, I would say probably less thinking, yeah. Can I just tell you this? I knew you were going to score on Sunday. I talked about it at length with Clint Dempsey in our preview. I knew how much the narrative about the goal drought was annoying. I knew that you'd try and seize that earliest opportunity to just end it. And you did it before that quite ecstatic Charlotte crowd.

6:49Pre-game, in the tunnel, did it feel different to you, Christian? Honestly, the energy of the stadium. Honestly, even in warm-ups before the game and then walking out. I mean, Charlotte was actually incredible. It definitely had a little bit of a different feel to it. Just the white and red-colored shirts in the stadium was really just like that bottle exactly. It was just special, I mean. So it had definitely a different energy about it, for sure. And we understand it's a friendly. It's time to keep improving, get ready for the big games that really matter. But we enjoyed it. I mean, football is about celebrating the moments along the way.

7:27And I will say watching you run off to that corner flag to celebrate. I know you're playing it down and I know you try and keep it in. But what were you experiencing in that moment? You've had 48 hours to process it. When you drop to your knees in that corner flag, when they're mobbed by your teammates, what was the dominant emotion? Was it joy? Was it relief? I mean, all of the above, I guess, for sure. in moments like that. Obviously, it had been a while since I scored and a lot of people have just been giving me crap about it. So it just felt good naturally to, I guess, have that off my back.

8:03And yeah, just going into the summer just with a positive performance like that in a game, like it's just the emotions were just good after quite a difficult season in a lot of ways. I mean, when you drop to your knees in those moments and you point up, what do you say to yourself? Do you say your prayer or on the field? Is it all just football? Yeah, I definitely just thank God because I've just seen so many moments and I always trust in him and I always trust that things are going to turn around. I feel like that's just the way of life. You have these ups and downs and I just feel like he's always there and I always seem to get across the other side and I feel I always have that support and that's what pushes me.

8:46I do want to take a quick minute to pay tribute to Ricardo Pepe watching the two of you combined with such incredible harmony inside 20 minutes. You're watching a footballing Harrelson and McConaughey, just two great Americans vibing together. Ricardo, such an incredibly tenacious human being. I do admire him so much. Can you talk about your relationship on the field, Christian, what he wants from you and what he does for you? Can you explain your partnership from the inside? I mean, yeah, it was really nice playing with him. It had been quite a while, I think. And yeah, I just felt like he picked up the ball.

9:20He was in so many good spaces and just causing problems for defenders. I felt like whenever we needed an outlet, he was there. He made runs of behind, caused problems. He's always in the right places in the box. I think he made the right decision with the passes. So all in all, I mean, there's not much more. I mean, I named everything you need from a good striker. I mean, so yeah, yeah, it was fun. We enjoyed it out there. The match was ultimately decided by Flew Balogun, came off the bench and just kind of shot out the lights, grabbed the winner. Can you talk to me about Balogun? What's different about the team when he's on the field in terms of what he wants, what he brings?

9:58I mean, he's just constantly a threat. I mean, to score goals. I mean, it seems like he's always finding picking up spaces similarly to Pepe. I mean, these guys, you see them scoring every week. So it's special. I mean, we have really good options up top. I mean, that's only a good thing for the team. He's just always, like I said, he's always there and he's always causing a threat in behind. He's faster and stronger than people think as well. Balow's just always finding goals. Is there a system that you prefer playing in that you feel brings out Pete Christian Pulisic? I mean, I think the system we played the other day, I felt really comfortable in.

10:36I was able to find, you know, spaces, especially on that left side, coming wide, coming inside at times, running in behind. I think those are my strengths and just running at defenders, facing the goal. And when I'm able to do that, I feel that's when I'm at my best. Yeah, I loved your post-game interview. You asked how it felt. and you said this, I felt this confidence, like I played really well in recent months too, but all people seemed to care about was goals. So hopefully now people can stop talking about it. Christian, honestly, what was worse for you? The goal drought or having to talk over and over again to journalists about the goal drought?

11:15I don't even, yeah, I don't know how to answer that question. I mean, I try to take it all in stride. Like this is all part of a career. I've had these moments before. So obviously it's a tough moment overall, having to deal with talking to people about it. I want the best. I want to score every game, obviously, but it's just not the way that the world works. And yeah, it's nice to finally get past that and get over a tough moment. But like I said, I haven't done anything yet. We haven't accomplished what we want yet. We still have a lot more in front of us. Christian, Mo Salah came on our show and talked about how he visualizes before games the goalie wants to score.

11:53Brendan Aronson talked about how he focuses obsessively psychologically on just looking at the things he can control, ignoring the things he can't. Do you have a psychological practice that you've embraced in your game? Yeah, I've done a lot more of that kind of imagining situations that I'll be in. And I like to just be prepared as best I can for them, for sure. I've noticed like I'm not someone if I overthink, sometimes it can get a little crazy. so I am someone who likes to play off of a lot more instinct as well there are things that I like to envision but others that I find much easier if I can just live it in the moment and not overthink it because I can tend to do that you do visualize goals yeah not necessarily specific goals but like movements that I'm going to make and plays that I'm going to make in the game yeah oh visualize beautifully for the next 39 days Christian you said in a GQ interview this week people look at you as if you're not playing well you said a lot of times that just means you didn't score there's so many other good things that you can do on the field which i found fascinating we do you know crudely as fans we look at goals we look at the sisters the metrics is there a statistic post game or a couple of stats that you put stock in to tell yourself measure yourself about whether you've had a good game or not that are not goals not assists yeah but but not even just stats um just plays that you're making.

13:18At times it can be it can be running stats, it can be yeah how you're tracking back, how you're playing defensively, runs you're making to free up spaces for your other teammates, you know simple passes that you make just to move the play along. I mean there's so many aspects of the game that aren't just scoring goals and assists but I totally understand that's what people judge attackers off of of course. That's what you also, it's important, you need goals and assists and you want to you want to do that but like I said yeah there's so many other ways that you can help affect the game for sure as you're saying we're just getting started this campaign in the world cup now led by Mauricio Pochettino Christian what's he like from the inside Poch if you had to describe him to someone who's never met him before in three words what would you say he brings energy um he brings a bit of nastiness within the team I think in a good way as far as like we're gonna go we're gonna press we're gonna we're gonna fight we're gonna do the little dirty things at times that help you to win games.

14:18You know, it's not just about being all nice and playing a beautiful tactics in football. I think we have a good balance of the two of those and also putting the ball in there in and just pressing and being annoying and doing all those little things, I feel like is what I feel that the team has improved a lot in. One more word, energy, the dirty work. I don't know, beauty. I was hoping for one that begins in W and ends in it, but I'll take beauty. I mean, Christian Potts is a man of many mottos. He loves talking about culture, strategy for breakfast. What's his message been this first week in camp?

14:56It's been to gain good momentum and, you know, a bit of team chemistry going into the real tournament. We want to build off these training sessions, learn everything we can, take in this experience as well and enjoy it as a team. because, yeah, you don't get these every day and enjoying the time together at a World Cup is really special and just having that togetherness and feeling confident going into the tournament. Work hard, enjoy togetherness. Christian, world's dying to know, what was Pot showing you on his laptop in the water break? Internet believes it was either the Flying V from the Mighty Ducks or the Lasso special.

15:38Gosh, I don't even know if I remember at this point. It was, I mean... Gio looked like he was trying not to laugh in the background. Yeah, no, I mean, it was obviously just video from the game, like a certain moment where just slight adjustments, how we play or how we press. Honestly, I don't remember. He was trying to show you that he's worked out how Claude works. Do you like water breaks as a player? Essentially splitting the game now into four quarters. I think I like it, to be honest. I've always thought it'd be fascinating to have like a timeout in soccer. I just think like it's sometimes there's moments in the game too when it's like, oh, let's just take a quick break.

16:19Let's reset a little bit. And sometimes it helps because people don't realize how difficult it can be actually to communicate while we're playing because the field is so big, the stadium is so loud. It's not easy for a coach to just like, you know, get information to everyone. So I think it's nice, especially when it's hot. Just get a little rest, get a little drink, and then right back to it. It's not like a long thing either. It'll be amazing. Foch calling the tea, changing the game, water breaking up. It's the future of football ripped from the NBA. Next up, Germany. Some fearsome tests. Chris, this is one of the craziest stats about this U.S.

16:54team. We're capable of beating all comers we feel on our day. But my Lord, we've lost eight straight games against European teams. How do you understand it? And what do we need to do to change it? Is it mental? Obviously, we've played against some good European teams and we haven't got the results. But, I mean, Senegal was a really good opponent as well. So, I mean, we're going to take confidence from that. Yeah, we have to have that belief. Absolutely, it's important that we can beat anyone. That's important going into a game. And I think if we do that and we put on another strong performance, I do believe we can beat anyone.

17:28So, that's the mentality we have to go into it with. After Germany, the World Cup on home turf, which is an enormous moment for all of us who love the game in our nation. And I know that you play down the sense of pressure. But when you do feel pressure, when does it come? Is it always present, nagging away in your head? Or does it just come in in waves like the night before a game? I think for me, it's like if I can keep my mind somewhat busy and I'm doing things and trying to enjoy the experience as much as I can and just doing what I love. And I'm not thinking about it as much. I think if you really isolate yourself and all you want to think about is the game and you worry about it, then like, yeah, nerves just come in in waves and you feel them.

18:14Obviously, as you get closer to the game, you feel that big game feeling that everyone feels and they'll never completely go away. I think that's something that a part of me enjoys it. I love that build up to it. But yeah, just with experience, it gets easier and easier. Do you sleep well? Serious question. I think I sleep pretty well. Normally after games is when I struggle to sleep the most. All the adrenaline. Yeah, I think just having that adrenaline and yeah, it's always difficult after a game kind of just winding down a bit is more difficult. But I sleep pretty well leading up to them. Serious question also.

18:50When you do sleep, do you dream about football? Does it invade your dreams? No, almost never. Never? You don't dream about the World Cup? I dream about the World Cup and I'm not even playing in it, Christian. That's good. I mean, yeah. I mean, I used to have this dream where I'm like arriving late to the game. That was like my nightmare. And it was so, I hated that dream. It's like, I'm like, can't get there in time. I'm like, come on. And like, I'm like late. I feel like a lot of people have similar dreams to that, but. I have that dream. I have a dream that Christian Pulisic is late for the game.

19:23That's my nightmare too. Yeah. Yeah. But other than that, I rarely dream about actual football. I don't really dream about it. What's the best way to get away from football in camp? What do you guys do? What are you playing that takes your mind off it together? Doing anything. I mean, we play cards. We went to the movies the other day. We just kind of... What did you see? We went and saw the movie Obsession. It was a crazy movie. It's a crazy movie. But yeah, just anything. We just like to go do things as a team and team meals, whatnot. Is there a golf simulator? No, not here with us, no. It might have to be the next purchase.

20:06I can't believe none of you have snuck the golf simulator into the room. Quick question for the Men in Blazers Discord at 1127 Dallas. Christian, if you could invite four players to join you in your dream rondo, alive or no longer with us, who would they be and why? Who would you rondo with? I would probably go like Luis Figo your icon as a kid Luis Figo yeah yeah Figo I loved I would probably go like Maradona and like maybe like Ronaldinho were two guys I looked up to a lot and then I guess Messi I think would be cool that's not a run there that's a party Christian that's a hell of a party another quick one from Matt Tedley Singh when you hear the national anthem before the game can you hear it or are you just so locked in and if so what does it feel like yeah i'm normally like singing along so um i mean i obviously you can hear it for sure and um i normally just try to like focus on the flag and kind of what it means to me uh just looking at like the american colors and um i'm just thinking about what it means to represent the u.s um just a country that's just given me everything that just brings me a lot of pride.

21:22So I normally, that's normally what I'm thinking about. Christian, I'm going to zoom all the way out your World Cup career. 2018, the agony, no US men at the World Cup. 2022, you scored in the group stages. We experienced the knockout rounds and we departed. 2026, what is success for you and the team? I think it's going to be finishing this tournament and looking back with zero regrets. I think guys that really gave everything and set a country on fire and made it feel alive and inspired kids all across the country. I don't want to put an exact marker on what that is, but obviously we want to get through the group stage and then from there we want to go as far as we can.

22:06And we want to be proud of what we've done as a team together and what we've, hopefully we've made this country proud. What's your message to US fans about the kind of football they should expect from this US team? One that's just going to bring a crazy amount of energy and enthusiasm and just an exciting brand of soccer. We're going to, you know, we're going to press. We're going to cause problems to other teams. We're going to fight. We're going to do all the little things and compete, you know, just compete our butts off. And I hope that's what they can really see. Finally, I want to take you forward to June the 12th, US group stage match day one.

22:43you're in the tunnel with your team in SoFi alongside the Paraguayans 70 ,000 fans packing the stadium most clad in the red white and blue your family are there it's been some incredible journey to this moment what would you say to yourself in the tunnel before you take the field probably probably just to take it all in and like actually look around especially before because it is such a special moment. I think even me in the last World Cup, I think I took the moment for granted a bit. I think I was so worked up and worried about the performance and really wanting to just do well. But I really want to look around and enjoy the experience because it's not every day that we get to live something like this.

23:29It's such an incredible honor and game to play in a game like this. So I think just enjoy it, take it all in for sure. and to play with no regrets exactly christian i want to raise this michelo bultra in toast to you your family your squad and the next 39 days please god to come thank you mate thank you very much courage