Christian Pulisic Is Officially Making His Return To US Soccer After His Disaster World Cup And It's Time For Him To Prove He Still Belongs As Our Star

We're gonna talk soccer for a second here because I'm 1) in love with Pochettino is doing with the call ups after the World Cup and 2) fascinated by Pulisic's return. We know how the World Cup ended. It was Pulisic hurt for most of the group stage, getting hurt in the loss to Belgium and being one of the 2 guys everyone blamed for the loss. It wasn't good. That first half against Paraguay was awesome for Pulisic and then he just never figured it out or got healthy enough. 

Now he's coming back. He's coming back to play Haiti, sure, but it's knockout stage. Home and away vs Haiti (but in Miami for the away leg) to advance in Nations League. It's a pressure setting in the sense of you better win. You can't look bad or get knocked out by Haiti. So that's why Pochettino is bringing a mix of vets (welcome back, Balogun) and the younger guys like Ellis, Albert, Hall and Sullivan and that group. 

What I want to see though is Pulisic show he can still be a star on this team. He doesn't have to be the guy anymore. Not with Balogun and Tillman turning into the players they are. Not when you have younger guys, all who looked awesome during the last call up. It's not all on Pulisic to be the guy. He needs to be a key piece, that's when we're at our best. But he doesn't have to do it all. That's the difference with this new group. There's not just 1. It's not just Cavan Sullivan. We've lived in that world where 1 guy was supposed to help bridge the gap. This time we have multiple good players to do that. 

I'll say it. Christian Pulisic is still good at soccer. It's important for him to still be good at soccer, part of why he got the new deal at AC Milan. If he's good while this new group + Balogun and Tillman all keep making the leap we're going to be in a good spot. So, welcome to Cincinnati for the 2nd leg, Christian. Skyline and goals. That's what we need to figure out.