Mauricio Pochettino, head coach of the U.S. men's national team, said Christian Pusicic should be Lionel Messi of the U.S. due to his talent and recognizable abilities.

"I think Christian was outstanding last year. He performed in Europe, and also in the national team. He is a very talented player who can help us win," Pochettino said during a play with the former USMNNT's outstanding "Unfiltered Football".

"You said people compare Messi to Christian Pulisic. I don't want to disrespect Messi or Prisic, but I think in this country Prisic should be our Messi. Because he's an iconic player.

Pulisic, 26, stands as an integral part of the USMNT, recording 32 goals and 18 assistants in 76 appearances since making his senior team debug in March 2016. He has taken the role of captain on multiple occasions, and led the team to the 2019-20, 2022-23 and 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League trophies.

At the club level, Pulisic represents Dortmund, Chelsea and now AC Milan. Statistically speaking, he has scored 17 goals and 12 assists in all games, making it the most successful club season of his career.

Despite his active role in the team, Pulisic decided to join the USMNT in two June friendships and the Golden Cup with the US Football Federation after a tough season in Europe. Pochettino defended Pulisic's decision to watch from the outside, confirming that the two had a conversation before the decision was made public.

"Christian is a very good guy, very dedicated to the national team, he wants to help, and of course he is eager to play in the (2026) World Cup and be at his best," Pochettino said.

“All the conversations we had with the players, I think it was the best decision to help him because every player is in a different situation.”

Pulisic's position is a list of experienced USMNT players who will not be participating in the 2025 Gold Cup, including Antonee Robinson, Timothy Weah, Weston McKennie, Giovanni Reyna and Yunus Musah.

Despite its absence, Pochettino stressed that every American player should desperately want to play for the national team.

"The people need to prioritize the national team," Pochettino said. "We are talking about Argentine players, Brazilian players, British players or Spanish players, they are all desperate. Even Messi, even Neymar, and even (Kelian) Mbappé for France, these guys are eager to play in the national team.

"For them, when they go, they don't see that it's a friendly game, if it's an official game, it's the World Cup - it's OK, because it's possible to defend your flag again, your shirt. It's going to be proud of us. It's the responsibility of the translation for us."

USMNT will face Türkiye and Switzerland in Group D of Concacaf Gold Cup.