Christian Pulisic has become the target of many critics of the U.S. men's soccer team following its round of 16 loss to Belgium at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. However, he has a pair of U.S. Soccer icons in his corner, too: Landon Donovan and Tim Howard.
Both Donovan and Howard expressed some empathy for Pulisic after some of the criticism he's received for his underwhelming play during the World Cup and his early departure from its elimination loss. But Donovan also pleaded with Pulisic to make some changes to how he conducts business and treats others off the pitch. "This is an opportunity to help and to change your life forever," Donovan said on his podcast, "Unfiltered Soccer," with Howard.
"One of the biggest problems — I speak to people who are at U.S. Soccer. I speak to his sponsors.
I speak to his teammates. I speak to the staff and the coaches. People are fed up with the way things are handled around him.
"And it's not necessarily him, but it's his agents, his family, his hangers-on, the people who are influencing. People are fed up with it. They treat people poorly.
They do things poorly. It's always a 'no' whenever you wanna ask, 'Can we do an interview?' It's always a, 'No, you can't get near him.' He doesn't say 'hi' to the commentators who do all the games all the time when they walk by. All the other guys come over and shake hands and say, 'Hello.' "There's just this sense about him that you can't get near him.
And I actually don't think it's from him. I think it's from I think it's from the people around him. They need to stop, and he needs to man up and have a conversation with them and say, ‘Look guys, this is not helping me.’" Donovan said that he went through something similar to what Pulisic is going through now when the USA was eliminated in group play at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, with Donovan being viewed as the face of the team at the time.
"I have been in his shoes. … I know the feeling. The feeling is identical," Donovan said. "I would just say this: It led me to therapy.
It led me to take a look at my life and my career honestly for the first time. It allowed me to have massive, important conversations with people I love in my life about all things, not just soccer, and it changed my life forever, in a positive way." While Pulisic's 2026 U.S. team went further than Donovan's 2006 squad, the 27-year-old didn't do a ton to contribute to the team's success. He logged zero goals and an assist during the tournament, with a calf injury forcing him to miss parts of all three group matches.
He departed Monday's loss early in the second half due to an ankle injury, with his comment that he has "time to rest" to FOX Sports' Jenny Taft particularly catching heat on social media. As Pulisic is dealing with some backlash, Howard said that he hopes the USA star isn't on social media for a bit. But, like Donavan, Howard also suggested that Pulisic change his off-field approach.
"Yeah, rubbed some people the wrong way," Howard said of Pulisic's post-match remarks. "I don't envy Christian Pulisic right now. That's a difficult place to be.
I do, though, believe that the sort of perceived nonchalantness is not that he doesn't care. I think he's hurting. I think he's aware.
I think that's his own defense mechanism. All I can is, I think it's impossible for him to feel the way that he felt — being one of the leaders on that team and being the biggest name and the best player with his ankle hurt and getting crushed going out of a World Cup — I would find it almost impossible for him to give a legitimately nonchalant interview. "So, there's something else going on there." This isn't the first time Donavan has pointed remarks toward Pulisic.
He took multiple swipes at the AC Milan star for opting not to play for the USA in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup due to rest. But as Donovan acknowledged that he doesn't have "a great relationship" with Pulisic, he hopes he's able to change how he conducts himself off the pitch so he doesn't alienate himself from the fans. "He has a big challenge ahead," Donovan said.
"I'm looking ahead to the next game, the next U.S. game in this country, what do you think that's going to look like? Think about that, is he going to get booed when they announce him? Maybe.
People are livid. It's a long, winded way of saying, this can be a good moment in your life. A lot of things need to change, and I actually think it's not him — it's the people around him."
