COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — If the U.S. men’s national team is going to make a significant run at the 2026 World Cup, it’s going to need top attacker Christian Pulisic on the field and in good form. This much is clear. With his club career on the rise in Italy, he is poised to shine when the quadrennial spectacle comes to North America next summer.
However, the international window that ended Tuesday — the third-to-last assembly before Mauricio Pochettino selects his World Cup roster — provided opportunity for the U.S. squad to play effective soccer largely without the hobbled Pulisic over two matches.
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After Pulisic left in the first half with a hamstring injury, Haji Wright scored twice in 18 minutes bridging halftime as the Americans came from behind to defeat previously surging Australia, 2-1, before 18,218 witnesses at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
“I have to continue to perform,” said Wright, who scored at the 2022 World Cup and this fall leads the second-flight English Championship in goals at Coventry City. “If I just shut off now, chances [for the World Cup roster] will probably diminish, but I’m happy that it happened and I am going to try to build off that.”
Wright stepped up after Pulisic departed about a half-hour into the match.
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In the first test of the window — a 1-1 draw with Ecuador on Friday in Austin, Texas — Pulisic was reduced to second-half sub because of an ankle ailment suffered in training camp. It was not immediately clear the extent of Pulisic’s hamstring injury. He will return to AC Milan on Wednesday for evaluation, Pochettino said.
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Pulisic’s absence did not prevent his teammates from rallying around Wright, who, in his first U.S. start in 13 months, tied the match in the 33rd minute and scored the winner in the 51st.
“It is an important thing to say, ‘I am here. I want to play. I want to be part of this team,’” Pochettino said. “For sure, a player that performs like today actually is coming close. It’s possible to be involved” at the World Cup.
Haji Wright’s two goals made the difference as the USMNT beat Australia 2-1 on Tuesday night in Commerce City, Colorado.
(Jamie Schwaberow/ISI Photos/USSF via Getty Images)
Both goals were assisted by Cristian Roldan, a defensive midfielder attempting to parlay a superb MLS season with the Seattle Sounders and impactful performances during these camps into a second straight World Cup roster berth.
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Known for his off-field contributions as a true team player, Roldan showed his on-field traits Tuesday.
“He is what we need,” Pochettino said. “We need a player with confidence, with some belief, with a little bit of arrogance. … If you want to build your perfect player, he has a little bit of everything.”
A year of experiments and more low moments than high marks has given way to a three-game unbeaten streak against World Cup-bound opponents. Tuesday’s result marked the first time since Pochettino’s appointment a year ago that his team had recovered from a deficit to win.
“As we get closer to the World Cup, obviously results matter more and more,” goalkeeper Matt Freese said. “And in the World Cup, results are the only thing that matter. … Game by game is what matters. And so we’re starting to get that into our system. … We have full faith in the process that we’re doing. That process has showed this camp.”
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Similar to Ecuador — which arrived stateside on an 11-game unbeaten run before drawing with the United States — the Socceroos entered the U.S. matchup on a 12-game unbeaten streak, including seven straight victories, most recently against Canada on Friday in Montreal.
A meek start to the match gave way to Australia’s goal in the 19th minute against a woefully passive U.S. defense. Jordan Bos executed a throw-in and scored the goal.
Bos’ throw was flicked by Sands. Sands couldn’t recover in time and Chris Richards was slow to react. Bos collected the ball on one bounce in the penalty area and split Roldan and Richards before lifting the ball off Roldan. Bos chested it down and slammed a 7-yard shot past Freese and into the far corner.
“We cannot concede the goal that we concede,” Pochettino said. “No, when you arrive [at] the World Cup, you cannot concede that type of goal.”
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Pulisic’s night ended after absorbing a second hard challenge in the space of 11 minutes. After receiving medical attention in the center circle, he left the field gingerly and was replaced by Diego Luna.
The Americans’ pace picked up. In the 33rd minute, as the jacketed Pulisic approached the locker room entrance behind the goal the U.S. team was attacking, Richards stepped up to intercept a pass at midfield. Roldan and Weston McKennie combined before Roldan slipped a delicate pass through a narrow channel to Wright in stride for a rising right-footer into the near side from 12 yards.
Shortly after intermission, Wright struck again. Roldan’s quick restart near midfield liberated Wright one on one with defender Cameron Burgess. Wright’s cutback in the box sent Burgess tumbling, and the U.S. forward curled a 15-yarder into the far corner for his seventh international goal.
“I’m yelling, ‘Haji!’ [and] making eye contact with him,” Roldan said. “I’m also yelling at Alex [Freeman] to leave the ball [alone]. This is all happening at once, and it’s just one of those moments where we’re on the same page.”
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Wright said, “I saw [Roldan] looking at me, so he kind of gave me a little head flick. I kind of picked up on it, and I was like, ‘OK, let’s do it.’ So I spun immediately. Then as the ball bounced, I kind of noticed there’s no one around me, so I checked to see if anybody’s in the box. I wanted to cross it originally, but once nobody’s in the box, I know I had to create the chance myself.”
Down the stretch, the Americans absorbed pressure and created some of their own, including Luna deep in the box and Aidan Morris in the clear.
“We need to trust in ourselves [what] is in our mind, in our brain, in our heart. It’s in our blood,” Pochettino said. “Sometimes it is difficult to explain how that magic happens. But this is about the work every day, every time we work together, to build a seed … and when that starts to grow inside, I think that is why this scene starts to happen, and for sure, more positive things will happen.”
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The U.S. team will resume World Cup preparations against Paraguay on Nov. 15 in Chester, Pennsylvania, and Uruguay on Nov. 18 in Tampa, Florida.
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