U.S. Soccer Hero Christian Pulisic Cleared For Saturday’s Netherlands Match

Topline

American forward Christian Pulisic has been cleared to play in Saturday’s round of 16 World Cup match between the U.S. and the Netherlands, according to U.S. Soccer, after being injured while scoring the lone goal in Tuesday’s must-win game against Iran.

Key Facts

Pulisic suffered a pelvic contusion when he collided with Iran’s goalkeeper–an injury he’s described as “very painful.”

Pulisic briefly continued playing after the hit in the 38th minute, but he was clearly hampered by it, leading U.S. Soccer staff to pull him from the game at halftime and send him to a hospital.

Even while hospitalized, Pulisic said he had no plans to miss Saturday’s match, sharing a celebratory Snapchat post, saying, “So f——— proud of my guys I’ll be ready Saturday don’t worry.”

Key Background

The circumstances of Pulisic’s goal and the price he paid for it instantly made it one of the most famous scores in U.S. Soccer history. The U.S. had to win Tuesday’s match to secure enough points to advance to the round of 16 after only getting draws in their other group stage games against Wales and England, despite strong performances, while Iran would have gone through with just a draw. The team heads into Saturday’s match against the Netherlands as the underdog, after the Dutch squad cruised into the last 16 with wins over Senegal and Qatar, along with a draw against Ecuador. The format for the remainder of the World Cup is a knockout tournament, with the winners of the round of 16 games advancing to the quarterfinals.

Surprising Fact

This is the seventh time the U.S. men’s soccer team has appeared in the knockout stages of a World Cup, where they’ve only won one match thus far in team history—a 2-0 win over Mexico in the 2002 round of 16.

Big Number

At least $294,348. That’s how much money each player on the U.S. team is set to take home from this World Cup. If they advance to the quarterfinals, the pay shoots up to $382,609.

Further Reading

U.S. World Cup Hero Christian Pulisic Taken To Hospital For Injury—But Vows To Play Saturday (Forbes)

Here’s How Much U.S. Soccer Players Will Make From The World Cup Based On How Far They Go (Forbes)

U.S. Beats Iran—Advances To World Cup Round Of 16 (Forbes)

U.S. Ties Wales In First World Cup Match (Forbes)