The United States men's national team continues its journey on Thursday in the Concacaf Nations League on Paramount+ and CBS Sports Network. You can follow our live coverage here. The big question was would superstar Christian Pulisic play in Thursday's semifinal against Honduras? The answer is yes, and it's from the very beginning. Pulisic was named a starter by Gregg Berhalter, joining Gio Reyna and Josh Sargent in attack.
Here's the XI and subs:
- Zack Steffen (captain); Antonee Robinson, John Brooks, Mark McKenzie, Sergiño Dest; Weston McKennie, Jackson Yueill, Sebastian Lletget; Christian Pulisic, Josh Sargent, Gio Reyna
- Substitutes: Ethan Horvath, David Ochoa, Matt Miazga, Tyler Adams, Brenden Aaronson, Tim Ream, Jordan Siebatcheu, Yunus Musah, Reggie Cannon, Tim Weah, DeAndre Yedlin, Kellyn Acosta
Fresh off a #UCL medal @cpulisic_10 gets the start against Honduras 👀@CharlieDavies9, @clint_dempsey, and @OguchiOnyewu5 breakdown the @USMNT's second youngest Starting XI in a competitive match 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/laUW0h52T5
— CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) June 3, 2021
The team's most important and talented player is fresh off winning the UEFA Champions League with Chelsea and has continued to accumulate minutes, despite a lot of them being off the bench. He played 24 minutes in the final victory over Manchester City and has started three of Chelsea's final five games. Pulisic became the first American male to play in the UCL final and win the title.
"Coming off of winning the Champions League, coming in the game making an impact in that in that game, he's ready to go," Berhalter told reporters earlier in the week. "It would be very hard to keep him out of the lineup."
But what also had to be be considered is the travel, getting into camp later than usual and missing out on Sunday's friendly against Switzerland, as it took place the day after the final. In that game, Berhalter opted for the trio of Brendan Aaronson, Josh Sargent and Gio Reyna for that match.
CBS Sports HQ Newsletter
Your Ultimate Guide to Every Day in Sports
We bring sports news that matters to your inbox, to help you stay informed and get a winning edge.
Thanks for signing up!
Keep an eye on your inbox.
Sorry!
There was an error processing your subscription.
The match is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET, and you can watch it on CBS Sports Network and Paramount+. For our match preview, click here.