KICK OFF

WHY IS CHRISTIAN PULISIC STRUGGLING?

Alright, let’s keep it real: Christian Pulisic was pretty bad in back-to-back USMNT draws. This was not the player some were dubbing “the best in Serie A (™)” just a few months ago. And that kinda sucks if you’re a USMNT, because they can’t really win without him. The natural response, then, is to decide that when he has a couple of bad games, then he sucks and the whole team is a bit crap. But put the reactionary instincts aside for one second, consider the variables, do a bit of amateur scouting, and one truth becomes clear: Pulisic has ALWAYS been remarkably inconsistent. And the USMNT might just have to deal with it. At least, that’s what GOAL thinks…

Tom Hindle: “Pulisic can influence a game in all sorts of ways, but there are still too many stretches where his impact in the final third isn’t there. That does not mean he is suddenly playing badly, or that he is no longer the U.S.’s most dangerous attacker. It simply suggests that this might be who Pulisic is as a footballer, and that expectations should be calibrated accordingly. He can still deliver in the biggest moments, but consistency continues to elude him.”

WHAT CAN THE USMNT LEARN FROM THIS WHOLE THING?

USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino said that his team was “building something.” And what might that be, Poch? There wasn’t a lot to take from this camp. USMNT went 0-for-2 against Portugal and Belgium. The combined aggregate scoreline? It was 7-2 against the U.S. There were strange formation changes, some weird selection decisions, and not that much good football in between. What can be learned, other than that a few lads might be out of the picture now? Well, Ryan Tolmich, USMNT extraordinaire and on-the-ground reporter, made something of the madness.  Here’s a wonderfully pieced together stock-up, stock down as the U.S. World Cup campaign looms… 

Tolmich, on Gio Reyna: “Gio Reyna came into camp needing minutes. He got 31 in two matches. That says plenty. If Pochettino truly views him as a difference-maker, you’d expect him to be used to change games. Instead, Reyna felt like an afterthought, with Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, and Malik Tillman - all roster locks - taking priority. With Brenden Aaronson and Diego Luna also in the mix, Reyna’s standing is as unclear as ever. And at this stage, uncertainty isn’t a great sign."

HOW DOES ITALY RECOVER FROM THIS?

There are many, many, many things wrong with Italian football at the moment. There is still an obsession with developing coaches. The state of their youth system is sad to see. Where is the next great Italian player coming from? It’s hard to say. And the issues start at the top. There’s no initiative, no innovation. It comes as little surprise, then, that they were eliminated from World Cup qualification by Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday night. Penalties are a cruel way to go, but ball don’t lie, I suppose. GOAL’s Mark Doyle wrote about where it has all gone wrong…

Doyle: “The thing is, though, Italian football is exactly where it deserves to be right now, after years upon years of gross mismanagement from top to bottom, making it almost impossible to be in any way optimistic about the world of calcio being restored to its former glory.”

MARTIN BEAT ALL ODDS AND IS LIVING HIS FOOTBALLING DREAM

Scott Martin woke up with no hands. A month before, he had what he thought was a bit of a bad cold. Sure, he felt rotten, but a doctor’s visit and he would be just fine. In reality, he had contracted a very rare disease called necrotizing fasciitis - known to most as flesh-eating bacteria. This was a tricky thing for a rising star in the coaching world. In effect, it sent his life into a spiral, a mixture of mental health issues, medical malpractice trials, and the immense changes brought about by his condition, seeing him fall away from soccer. So, he did what any normal person would: adopted five children, moved back home, married the girl he met as a teenager, and is now one of the top club soccer coaches in Wisconsin. Martin’s story is tragic, strange, and, ultimately, triumphant…

Hindle: “What happens next is hard to determine. There are chances to coach at a higher level with older kids, Martin said. He has considered a return to the college game, if possible. His home life has settled down, too. He reconnected with a girl he met when he was 19. They’re married now. He has spent years writing a memoir - and it has been the best form of therapy he could have imagined. If this all sounds like a real-life cliche, that’s because it is. It's been 30 years since the day that changed his life. Maybe - just maybe - Martin can think about himself a little.”

MLS’S TOP MAN PICKS HIS NEXT STAR TALENT

We get lazy in soccer discourse way too quickly. Lionel Messi is making MLS look very, very easy. But that’s not enough. We need the next Euro star to come over, the next emphatic change in America’s top soccer league to come into effect. And Don Garber, who famously keeps his cards to his chest a little, spoke out. In a wide-ranging interview with The Late Run, GOAL’s show featuring Chad Ochocinco Johnson and Raheem Taylor Parkes, Garber talked pro-rel, MLS’s growth, and why the top stars now want to come to the States…

Garber: “Back in the day, it was hard to get the big-name guys here. Now it's not that hard. Honestly, I think they're calling us.”

A DOUBLE SHOT OF ESPRESSO FOR YOU

Finally, the USWNT is starting to take shape again. We all remember the glory days of 2024, when the U.S. rolled through the Olympics. It was a campaign that showed Emma Hayes’ coaching genius. She got the best out of three elite attackers dubbed Triple Espresso and developed a quality defensive structure around them. And the vibes were excellent. The USWNT have largely remained successful, but not as dominant due to not having Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith together. It’s all due to the fact that a mixture of injury and, well, motherhood, has forced Emma Hayes to make changes. But now she has Rodman and Wilson back, which can be nothing short of a good thing. GOAL’s Celia Balf broke it all down…

Balf: “The 26-player roster blends experience and youth. Veterans like Lindsey Heaps, Emily Sonnett, and Rose Lavelle all bring over 100 caps, while 10 players have 10 or fewer. It’s the second straight camp in which every player has at least one cap, though the range of experience remains wide. The USWNT will be tested by Japan, the reigning 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup champions. Houston Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell returns as the third keeper, rotating in after recent camps featuring Mandy McGlynn, Claudia Dickey, and Phallon Tullis-Joyce. With three matches against Japan, Hayes is expected to rotate heavily - experimenting, filling gaps, and continuing to build toward the 2027 World Cup qualifiers.”

VIDEO REVIEW

Here’s what it means to qualify for a World Cup (sorry, Italy)

AROUND THE GROUNDS

A few other things you need to know to impress your pals at the bar, ruin your social feed, or generally be a snob about this sport:

• GOAL decided to check out what an Italian restaurant is like when Italy loses a big game. Spoiler alert: It’s mostly just swear words and cigarettes.

• Can we interest you in some World Cup power rankings? Yeah? OK, here they are.

• Look away, USMNT fans, the Canadians are coming…

THE WORLD CUP IS ALMOST HERE!

Want to know where to learn pretty much everything you could possibly need to know about the World Cup? Turns out we’ve provided it with the snappily named World Cup HQ. Enjoy.

CHECKING THE MONITOR

The vibes were also immaculate in Sweden.

POSTMATCH PRESSER 

Welcome to our new Q+A section, where we answer your thoughts and queries (yeah, this is a chance to let the people talk). Write in, if you feel so inclined: goalrondo@gmail.com. No insane questions, please (unless they’re funny). 

Jack Cahill: If you could wave a magic wand and move one player to another team, who would you move to where and why?

A prolific two-week streak from Jack of asking decent questions… This is a juicy one. Would it be cheating to say I would bring Thiago Alcantara out of retirement and have him play in Liverpool’s midfield for the rest of the season? If not, it’s gotta be Cristiano to MLS, right? Get out your checkbook, Sporting Kansas City. 

Allen Lyons: If you’re Christian Pulisic, do you leave Milan this summer?

You’d consider it, but probably not. I mean, where else could you go? Premier League clubs have probably made up their mind post Chelsea, anywhere outside of Bayern in the Bundesliga is a step down. He’s not really a player for Spanish football. Pulisic is in a good spot. He’s just got to make the most of where he is.

Sam Harris: If you could change one rule in soccer, what would it be?

Fun one. I would ban VAR for all eternity and forget it ever happened.

POSTMATCH HIGHLIGHTS

We’ve already mentioned this one, but Don Garber’s interview with us this week really was very good… 

MATCHES NOT TO MISS

• April 4: FA Cup, Liverpool vs. Man City, 7:45 a.m. — ESPN+

• April 4: La Liga, Barcelona vs. Atletico Madrid, 3 p.m. — ESPN+

• April 6: Serie A, Napoli vs. Milan, 2:45 p.m. — Paramount+

• April 7:  Champions League quarter final, Real Madrid vs. Bayern Munich, 3 p.m. — Paramount+

• April 8: Champions League quarter final, Liverpool vs. PSG, 3 p.m. — Paramount+

That’s all for this edition of The Rondo. Irritate me directly with questions/comments/insights/incorrect opinions @tom_Hindle_

Cheers for reading!