Pochettino says Pulisic faces late fitness call for USMNT vs Australia

Mauricio Pochettino said Christian Pulisic's availability for Friday's World Cup match with Australia will be decided at the last minute as the winger manages a knock that was aggravated after the Paraguay game. Pulisic played the first 45 minutes against Paraguay before being replaced by Sebastian Berhalter, and medical staff will assess him on Thursday night ahead of the Seattle fixture.

Pulisic trained individually all week, combining gym work with modified on-field sessions. "He was training in an individual way the whole week," Pochettino said, adding that the player is "much better since Friday" and "making a fantastic effort to try to get ready as soon as possible." If Pulisic is unavailable, Pochettino has several options: he could push Weston McKennie or Malik Tillman further forward, or turn to Tim Weah, Brenden Aaronson, Gio Reyna or Alex Zendejas off the bench.

On the choice of a replacement he kept his cards close, saying: "I will tell you tomorrow...

United States, Seattle

christian pulisic, mauricio pochettino, usmnt, australia, world cup, injury, weston mckennie, malik tillman, gio reyna, brenden aaronson