Chelsea star forward Christian Pulisic has expressed his wish to represent the United States at the upcoming Tokyo Olympic. But there are several ifs and buts before his wish can even come close to being successful.
The 22-year-old will be looking to headline the upcoming do or die fixture for the United States. Winning this match will assure the United States team’s journey to Japan for the Summer Games.
However, even if the Americans qualify for the Olympics this year which will be their first time since 2008, Pulisic will need Chelsea to agree on the matter which will be a tough pill to swallow for manager Thomas Tuchel and company.
“The Olympics is of course a massive honour to play in, and to represent your country in an Olympics would be amazing,” Pulisic said on a call with reporters on Wednesday. “I am fully supporting the guys in qualifying now. It is something I’ve thought about and that I’ve wanted to play in.
“Obviously I can’t control exactly what goes on and what is best for me at the time and the team at the time, I can’t say, but it is something that I would like to play in.”
The Americans are in a great spot to qualify for the Summer Games as they have defeated both Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic and will be facing Mexico to decide the group topper. United States have already qualified for the knockouts but being the group topper will help them face a comparatively weaker team as the final two teams in the finale will book their tickets to the Tokyo Olympics. The semi-finals will see the USMNT face either Canada or Honduras.
Chelsea have no obligation to release Pulisic as it is only a U-23 tournament. Also allowing the 22-year old go will mean that he will miss the entirety of the pre-season and the start of the new campaign.
While Thomas Tuchel has also not used Pulisic that much as his game time under the German tactician has come down substantially. But still, the American winger is a very vital player for the Blues and it is highly unlikely for them to allow Pulisic to leave for the Tokyo Olympics.
