USMNT Star Christian Pulisic Opens Up Scoring in FA Cup Final, Injured in Second Half

In his first FA Cup final appearance, U.S. men's national team star Christian Pulisic opened up the scoring with an early goal for Chelsea.

In his first FA Cup final appearance, U.S. men's national team star Christian Pulisic opened up the scoring with an early goal for Chelsea.

With an assist from Olivier Giroud, Pulisic sent the shot sailing from the center of the box to the bottom left corner of the net to give Chelsea a 1–0 lead over Arsenal within the first five minutes.

CAPTAIN AMERICA! 💥#HeadsUpFACupFinal #ARSCHE pic.twitter.com/966RZ6yMaU

— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) August 1, 2020

The 21-year-old is the youngest scorer in a FA Cup final since Cristiano Ronaldo scored in Manchester United's 3–0 victory over Millwall in 2004. Ronaldo was only 19 years old at the time. Pulisic also became the first U.S. international to score in an FA Cup final.

Pulisic's big day for Chelsea ended early in the second half when he left the game after suffering an apparent hamstring injury. The American was ruled out for Chelsea's game against Bayern Munich in the round of 16 second leg next Saturday. 

Christian Pulisic was forced out of the #FACupFinal with an apparent hamstring injury.

Here's to a speedy recovery 🙏 pic.twitter.com/BpvBcK0INP

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 1, 2020

Chelsea thumped Manchester United to book their place in the final. Saturday's match behind the London rivals is held closed doors and comes one week after the Premier League season ended.