Carli Lloyd Calls Out Christian Pulisic For Comments on Injury After 2026 World Cup Exit

United States Women's National Soccer Team legend Carli Lloyd appeared to call out Christian Pulisic on Tuesday regarding comments he made after the United States Men's National Soccer Team fell 4-1 to Belgium in the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Monday.

Pulisic exited the United States' loss after 59 minutes due to an ankle ailment, and when asked by Fox Sports about the nature of the injury, Pulisic said, "I just twisted my ankle and just sprained my ankle. It's just frustrating to end like that, of course. But now I've got time to rest, so it'll be okay."

In an apparent response to Pulisic's comments, Lloyd took to X and wrote, "You rest when your playing career is over. Period."

Lloyd wasn't the only former USWNT star to chime in, as Sydney Leroux also offered a critical take:

Widely regarded as the USMNT's best current player and one of the program's top players of all time, hopes were high for Pulisic to lead the Americans to a great result on home soil.

Pulisic looked great in USA's 4-1 win over Paraguay to open group play with multiple dangerous runs down the wing, but a calf injury resulted in him being lifted at halftime.

The 27-year-old AC Milan star then missed the United States' 2-0 win over Australia and came off the bench for about 30 minutes in their 3-2 loss to Türkiye.

Pulisic played almost the entirety of the United States' 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32, but he didn't find the back of the net.

In fact, Pulisic didn't score at all during the 2026 World Cup after scoring a huge goal in the 2022 World Cup, which lifted the U.S. past Iran and into the knockout stages.

Although the United States won a knockout-stage match as part of the expanded 2026 World Cup, they were unable to improve on the Round of 16 exit they experienced in 2010, 2014 and 2022.

The Americans reached the quarterfinals at the 2002 World Cup, marking the only time they made it that far under the current format. While there was hope for the United States to match that result after a strong performance in group play, they appeared overmatched against Belgium.

It has long been a topic of conversation that the USMNT has lagged behind the USWNT when it comes to their results on the biggest stages in soccer.

The USWNT have won four World Cups and five Olympic gold medals, and Lloyd was instrumental in winning two of those World Cups and two of those Olympic golds.

Lloyd is one of the faces of the USWNT's excellence, and her words carry a great deal of weight with soccer fans as a result.