Players of the United States celebrate during their opening World Cup match, a 4-1 victory over Paraguay. The U.S. has an important match Friday against Australia.
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Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
SEATTLE — The star of the United States men’s national team, Christian Pulisic, will not play in the team’s important World Cup game Friday against Australia.
About 90 minutes before kickoff, head coach Mauricio Pochettino told Fox that Pulisic is unavailable due to a nagging left calf injury suffered in the team’s opening match against Paraguay. “It is hoped, as soon as possible, [he] can be ready to be selected again to be part of the team,” Pochettino said.
The group stage game against Australia, set for 3 p.m. Eastern time at Lumen Field in Seattle, will be pivotal in determining the U.S.’s knockout-stage seeding.
Both the U.S. and Australia won their openers — the U.S. over Paraguay 4-1 and Australia over Turkey 2-0 — meaning the winner of Friday’s game between the two teams will be in the driver’s seat to win the group.
In Pulisic’s absence, forward Ricardo Pepi will start Friday. Pepi has appeared in four matches for the U.S. in 2026 and logged two assists, one against Belgium in March and the second against Senegal in May.
Pulisic’s absence on the left side could spell trouble for the Americans. He was key in creating two of the Americans’ three first-half goals against Paraguay. Then, after being kicked in the leg by a Paraguayan player, he exited last Friday’s game at halftime. The difference in the U.S. performance between the first and second half, after Pulisic was replaced, was noticeable. Paraguay scored its only goal after halftime.
“Christian is a really important player for us. He can be really dangerous on the wing side,” said teammate and midfielder Sergiño Dest.
Pulisic had been training individually all week long. On Thursday, Pochettino said Pulisic had been improving and was making a “massive effort trying to be ready” to play against Australia.
Christian Pulisic (L) practices on his own, away from other U.S. players, during a training session for the 2026 World Cup at the team’s training facility in Irvine, Calif. on Wednesday.
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The third and final U.S. group stage game, in which the Americans will face Turkey, is scheduled for next Thursday, June 25.
Australia comes into Friday’s game tied in the Group D standings with the U.S. after their 2-0 win over Turkey last week. Turkey, whose roster features stars like Arda Güler of Real Madrid and Kenan Yıldız of Juventus, had been considered by some analysts to be the strongest team in the group.
The last time the U.S. faced Australia was in an international friendly match in October 2025. It was a chippy, foul-filled game that the Americans won 2-1. Pulisic left that game with an injury to his right leg after being tripped by Australian defender Jason Geria.
“They’re a very physical team. They have guys in the back. I think crosses in the box will be very hard to get past them, and they have speed up top for counterattacks,” said midfielder Weston McKennie on Thursday. “It’s going to be a battle, I know that for sure, and a rough one as well.”
