Christian Pulisic Reportedly Won't Play at Gold Cup, USMNT Also Without McKennie, More

The United States men's national soccer team will reportedly be without their headline player with a shorthanded roster for this summer's CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Doug McIntyre of Fox Sports reported Wednesday that head coach Mauricio Pochettino is not expected to include star player Christian Pulisic on the roster for the tournament that starts June 14.

What's more, Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna and Tim Weah are also not expected to play for the Americans in the tournament.

Reyna plays for Borussia Dortmund, while McKennie and Weah are teammates on Juventus. Both clubs are slated to participate in the Club World Cup, which runs at the same time as the Gold Cup in the United States.

"It's a situation that forces a team like the U.S. to get by without players that would normally be with us," Pochettino told reporters Tuesday.

Depth will be a concern, but so will high end firepower without Pulisic.

The 26-year-old helped lead the Americans to the 2019 Gold Cup final, although they lost to Mexico. He did not suit up in the 2021 tournament, which the United States won.

The United States has won the Gold Cup seven times, which is second to Mexico's nine titles.

While the other players will not participate because of the Club World Cup, McIntyre reported the Pulisic decision was made in part to preserve his health for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The United States is co-hosting that tournament with Mexico and Canada and figures to be critical for American soccer. 

McIntyre noted Pulisic is in line to log a career high in minutes if he plays more than 49 in Saturday's contest for A.C. Milan and "is beaten up physically following two back-to-back marathon European seasons and international games."

Pulisic has 17 goals and 12 assists as A.C. Milan's leading scorer this season.