Christian Pulisic Calls Out U.S. Fan Support in Cincinnati After Friendly vs. Morocco

Pulisic: “To be honest, for whatever reason, I’m not super happy with the amount of Americans here.”

The U.S. men’s national soccer team returned to home soil for the first time since March for an international friendly against Morocco on Wednesday, getting out to a strong start en route to a 3–0 victory. But it was a post-game comment by star midfielder Christian Pulisic that will likely draw the spotlight.

Speaking on the field at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati during ESPN’s broadcast, Pulisic was asked what it was like to be back in front of American fans after a long break. The Chelsea star paused briefly before giving a frank answer expressing disappointment at the game’s turnout, which had a higher percentage of Moroccan support than Pulisic was hoping for.

“To be honest, for whatever reason, I’m not super happy with the amount of Americans here,” Pulisic said. “However that works out, if I’m being completely honest. But thanks to the ones who did come, and the support is always great from them. But yeah, it’s nice to be back in America and playing again.”

Pulisic once again shined for the Americans on Wednesday. He recorded an assist on the team’s first goal of the night on a play in which his perfect first touch on a lofted pass preceded a quick cutback and delivery to Brenden Aaronson, who tapped the ball into a wide open net.

Pulisic later drew a penalty in the second half that was converted by Haji Wright for the game’s third and final goal. In the process, Pulisic recorded his 10th assist of his national team career, making him the fastest in team history to reach the 20-goal, 10-assist mark over the past 30 years. Pulisic did so in his 49th appearance for the team, just beating out Landon Donovan (50 games).

The U.S. will play another international friendly on Sunday against Uruguay at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City.

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Nick Selbe
NICK SELBE

Nick Selbe is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about baseball and college sports. Before joining SI in March 2020 as a breaking/trending news writer, he worked for MLB Advanced Media, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. Selbe received a bachelor's in communication from the University of Southern California.