Christian Pulisic urged to show USMNT “confidence” at AC Milan

Christian Pulisic is still in the early days of his AC Milan career, but French legend Thierry Henry is expecting more out of the U.S. men’s national team star in Italy.

Pulisic joined AC Milan in a permanent deal this summer from Chelsea, taking the next step in his club career. The 25-year-old hit the ground running in Milan, scoring in his first two Serie A appearances after jumping right into Stefano Pioli’s squad.

However, Pulisic has hit a recent dry spell for the Rossoneri, most recently being dropped from the starting lineup in Tuesday’s goal-less UEFA Champions League draw vs. Newcastle United.

Henry, who was previously linked with the USMNT head coaching vacancy, hinted on CBS Sports’ new show “Kickin’ It”, that he would like to see Pulisic bring the same confidence and freedom to AC Milan that he brings to the international level.

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“As a creative player if you don’t try to make mistakes, you cannot succeed,” said Henry. “I can see on the national team, [Pulisic] feels like, ‘I can make mistakes.’ When you play on the big club [team], you play the ball one time and it’s a mistake and the next time you touch it is 15 minutes after. People remember every time you touch the ball that you lost it.

“The international team, he plays with that confidence,” Henry added. “We were all creative players, so you have to score. So if you feel like in your head you can’t lose that ball, then you might as well step out of the field and don’t play.”

Pulisic endured a tough 2022-23 campaign with Chelsea, scoring only one goal and adding two assists in just over 1,000 minutes played. However, over the same span with the USMNT, Pulisic scored four goals and added four assists in nine appearances, which also included a strong showing at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

While Pulisic is always a lock to start for the USMNT, his long-term role with AC Milan can constantly change with several other talented wingers in the Rossoneri squad. Especially with AC Milan fighting to compete for domestic silverware this season, delivering a deep run in the Champions League will be high on Pioli and Pulisic’s radar as the campaign pushes forward.

AC Milan resumes Serie A play on Saturday against Hellas Verona before also facing Cagliari and Lazio to close out its September schedule.

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