US Stars Criticize Former Players
The US national team figures, Christian Pulisic and Timothy Weah, have expressed strong criticism towards the opinions of former national team players, calling them “malicious” and “evasive.” These statements were made in a recent episode of Paramount+’s “Pulisic” documentary.The episode, which recounts a period of underperformance by the US team in 2025, as well as Pulisic’s decision to take a break from the Gold Cup, also included comments from Weah on the growing criticism from experts and former players.“I’d say the most annoying, and for me, the biggest cop-out of all time, is when, especially, you know, all the experts want to say: ‘They didn’t want it. They didn’t have heart, you know, in our day, we were fighting and dying on that field,'” Pulisic said.
Christian Pulisic
The comments from both players, along with those of Mark Pulisic, Christian’s father, have intensified the public controversy between the current and previous generation of USMNT stars. Before the Gold Cup, former player Landon Donovan criticized the absence of Pulisic and other key USMNT players, without naming them directly, saying: “I can’t help but think of some of our guys on vacation, who don’t want to play in the Gold Cup. It’s bothering me.” Without Pulisic, among others, in the Gold Cup, the American team, with a squad full of substitute players, finished in second place after losing 2-1 against Mexico in the final on July 6. The United States came to the tournament with a streak of four consecutive defeats, including a disappointing fourth place in the Concacaf Nations League. In response to Donovan, and days before the Gold Cup, Mark Pulisic used social media to ask ChatGPT to explain Donovan’s break from the sport in 2012-13. “Landon Donovan took his sabbatical because he felt physically and mentally exhausted after years of intense competition and the pressure that comes with being a high-level athlete,” said the AI text in a June social media post, which Christian approved. Former player Alexi Lalas also criticized Pulisic’s absence from the Gold Cup. In an interview, Pulisic stated: “You can talk about my performances, whatever you want, but to question my commitment, especially to the national team, in my opinion, that’s out of line.” Pulisic is preparing for the upcoming Serie A season with AC Milan, which begins its 2025-26 season with an Italian Cup match against Bari on Sunday. Weah recently joined Marseille on loan from Juventus and will begin his Ligue 1 campaign against Rennes on Friday. Regarding the USMNT, their upcoming friendlies are scheduled for September 6 against South Korea and then against Japan three days later.“Those guys are looking for checks, and for me, I feel like they’re really evil, honestly, because they’ve been players and they know what it’s like when you get criticized,” Weah said. “They’re the same guys who will turn around and shake your hand and try to be friendly with you.”
Timothy Weah
