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United States forward Christian Pulisic said he has struggled with an up-and-down year at Chelsea but that he looks forward to helping the USMNT reach the World Cup.
In June, the US won the Nations League with the U.S., and in May, they won the European Championship. He was out for two months with an ankle injury he sustained in the World Cup qualification match against Honduras. He battled for a starting spot in the last 11 games of the season as he was out.
He said that it has been up and down over the past year. It's not exactly where I want to be and how I want things to be right now. I'm just going to keep going.
At his former club, the American has been shifted from his winger role to playing as a center-forward or as a wingback. He has only scored three times in the league.
It's tough, I haven't always been playing in the positions I want to play in. I think it is a good quality to be versatile and be able to play in many different positions and have different strengths on the pitch.
I think I'm ready to be in a spot in the next couple of games that I'm more comfortable in, because I've learned a lot.
The USMNT can qualify for the World Cup this week.
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The USMNT won 2-0 in November when Pulisic scored the go-ahead goal on his first touch after returning from injury. He won his third U.S. Player of the Year award a month later.
The U.S. manager praised Pulisic for his flexibility.
Berhalter said that he loved the fact that Christian was fighting to be on the field. I think that is the mark of character.
The pressure of being a prominent player for both his club and country is something he tries to keep in balance.
There are two sides to me, the soccer side and the person side. The person side is more important to me than the other side. Sometimes it is a lot.
When I am a member of the national team, I ask how things are at the club. It is difficult. How, what, what, that? It is difficult. It has been difficult at times, and it has played a lot on me. I always enjoy coming back with the national team and getting to enjoy it.
Berhalter said he expects a tough game between the two sides who drew in September.
He said that El Salvador was the best pressing team in the first eight games.
Next up is a match against Canada on Sunday and a match against Honduras on February 2.
By the end of this window, we could be in a great position.
The report was contributed to by the Associated Press.
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