Pulisic: 'I'll do everything' to play vs. Netherlands

AL RAYYAN, Qatar — United States midfielder Christian Pulisic said on Thursday he’ll “do everything in my power” to play in Saturday’s World Cup round-of-16 match against the Netherlands.

Pulisic’s official status remains day-to-day with a pelvic contusion, according to a U.S. Soccer Federation spokesperson.

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He suffered the injury moments after scoring against Iran in the final group-stage game on Tuesday. The US ultimately prevailed 1-0, a result that saw Gregg Berhalter’s side finish second in Group B. Now the question is whether he’ll heal up in time to play.

“I’m going to go meet now with the team medical staff and make a decision on [training] today, just kind of see how I’m feeling, taking it day by day,” Pulisic said in Thursday’s news conference. “Right now I’m doing everything in my power to be able to be out there on the field on Saturday.”

Pulisic later clarified that he “didn’t get hit in the balls. I’m all right,” but that he got hit in the pelvic bone.

“It was very painful. That bone is there for a reason to protect you; I hit it well,” he said. “It was sore, but it’s getting better.”

Pulisic’s status remains the biggest concern heading into Saturday’s match against the Netherlands. The US struggled mightily without him in the second half against Iran, even as it saw the game out.

But Pulisic said he remains confident that no matter who is on the field, the team will get the job done, and that takes pressure off him.

“Honestly, this team helps me so much to take the pressure off of me,” he said. “A couple of years ago, there were times maybe I felt like I needed to do more.

“But with these guys, I don’t feel that way at all, to be honest. I know they have my back. I know when I went down, and I see Brenden [Aaronson] running onto the pitch, I’m not worried at all because I know these guys.

“I mean, you see the talent. You see the work that they put in. Just the unity of this group is what makes it special and takes any pressure that there might be off of me. They know that I got their back. They [have] got mine.”

A U.S. Soccer spokesperson added that forward Josh Sargent is also day-to-day with right ankle soreness.

Ahead of the match, Netherlands midfielder Marten de Roon insisted he and his teammates were “searching” for a solution to their unimpressive performances despite topping their group with two victories and a draw.

“We are searching, that is clear. We hope it gets better, we all hope so,” De Roon told a news conference on Thursday. “But the first goal is to get through to the next round. We are not deliberately playing badly here. Maybe one of you has the solution?”

“Of course, we would prefer to play everyone off the carpet and win 5-0 every time and become world champions, but it is not that simple. Winning counts on Saturday, but how we do it matters less. Even if necessary through penalty kicks.

“I don’t mind becoming a world champion without having played a good match. The positive is that we haven’t lost. That may also give us the confidence that it can only get better.”

Information from Reuters contributed to this report.