Tim Howard did not hold back his criticism of Christian Pulisic's decision to leave Mauricio Pochettino's first USMNT camp early.
After the U.S. men's national team defeated Panama 2–0 in Pochettino's debut, Pulisic, Ricardo Pepi, Weston McKennie, Marlon Fossey and Zack Steffen all returned to their respective clubs to avoid overload. Without Pulisic and co. available, the Stars and Stripes lost to Mexico for the first time since 2019.
Howard, arguably the greatest USMNT goalkeeper of all time, expressed his frustration at Pulisic's decision to depart camp and rejoin AC Milan.
"Pulisic is our biggest player, our best player—and this was no normal USMNT camp," Howard wrote for the Daily Mail. "It marked the start of Pochettino’s reign and the countdown to the 2026 World Cup."
