Washington, June 19 (IANS) USA winger Christian Pulisic’s availability is still to be determined for the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage match against Australia, head coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed on Friday here at Seattle Stadium.

Pulisic left at halftime of the USA’s emphatic 4-1 win over Paraguay in the group stage opener at Los Angeles Stadium. His replacement, midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, was one of seven USA’s players to make his FIFA World Cup debut in the match.

In a pre-match press conference, Pochettino said he will meet with his medical staff and make a decision one way or the other later in the evening. “Tonight, we have a meeting with our medical staff. We will assess the whole group,” Pochettino told reporters. “Christian is strong, with a great mentality. He’s evolving and much better from Friday. We will see. If we see he’s not available for tomorrow, he will be available for the next game. I think he’s doing a massive effort trying to be ready.”

Pulisic remained on a modified training programme on Thursday as concerns continue to grow over a left calf injury. According to Daily Mail, the 27-year-old arrived at the US training base in Seattle wearing a protective sleeve on his calf before briefly joining teammates for a pre-training huddle. But rather than taking part in the main session, Pulisic left with medical staff and headed to the gym, where he trained away from the squad for a fourth consecutive day.

A top-of-the-table Group D clash between co-hosts USA and Australia will light the touchpaper for an intriguing matchday at the FIFA World Cup 2026, with both sides knowing a win will see them through to the knockouts. America and Australia enter Saturday’s matchup as the top two teams in the Group D standings. Both sides are full of belief and confidence after kicking off their summer campaigns on strong notes.

“We’re so happy to arrive in this moment knowing that Australia is going to be a really tough opponent. They beat a very difficult team, a great team, in Turkiye. Only we can show, like the draw, our full respect to them, but at the same time, we want to beat them. We are ready to fight,” Pochettino said.

–IANS

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