Players cannot pick and choose which games they will be available for, United States coach Mauricio Pochettino said after forward Christian Pulisic skipped the Concacaf Gold Cup but offered to play in a pair of friendlies.

And while the USMNT was thoroughly embarrassed in its friendly against Switzerland, much of the discussion focused on the player who wasn't there: Christian Pulisic. Ever since the AC Milan star elected to skip the Gold Cup — the USMNT's only competitive tournament before the 2026 World Cup — the backlash had been impossible to ignore.

Pulisic and the U.S. Soccer Federation agreed that he would sit out this summer's Gold Cup 'to get the rest he needs'