When Christian Pulisic set up a goal and forced an own goal against Paraguay in the USMNT’s opener at the World Cup, it felt like “Captain America” had fully seized his home World Cup opportunity. But the fanfare lasted for 45 minutes as Pulisic was replaced at the break due to a recurring injury. Nearly 20 days after his last start, the 27-year-old is healthy again and was urged to match those levels by Charlie Davies.

When CBS Sports’ Brandon Baylor asked whether the round-of-32 clash against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday could be one of the career-defining moments for Pulisic, Davies honestly laid out his expectations for the world.

“I would’ve told you, coming into the tournament, it’s his time to shine; he’s gotta step up; he’s gotta meet the moment,” Davies replied. “He did for the first 45 minutes, and an injury forced him out. Now it’s time for him to shine again,” he continued.

Pulisic later revealed that he took a big kick to the calf before the Paraguay game. The adrenaline of the opener carried him through, but head coach Mauricio Pochettino decided to protect him. Pulisic missed the game against Australia but cheered his teammates as they secured a 2-0 victory and confirmed their place in the knockouts after winning Group D.

Having returned to light team training, Pulisic was fit enough to have a 30-minute outing against Turkiye in a 3-2 defeat for the USMNT. The Milan forward was electric on his comeback and rattled the post with a thunderous effort.

“You need your best players and impact players to come up big in this stage of the tournament. We’re talking about knockout rounds. Win or go home,” Davies noted how Pulisic, the undisputed star of the team, will be under the scanner.

France’s Kylian Mbappé, Norway’s Erling Haaland, and Argentina’s Lionel Messi are delivering for their nations by leading from the front as star players. Pulisic will be expected to raise his performance levels.

At the same time, Davies also acknowledges how it’s not a one-man job for the USMNT. “It’s not all on him, but you expect him to be a big contributor moving forward,” he said.

“I’ll say the same thing for Weston McKennie, Folarin Balogun and Tyler Adams. It’s gotta be a team effort, but you need those individuals to shine,” Davies concluded.

Although Pulisic is the best player, the USMNT is not completely dependent on him. When Pulisic decided to skip the 2025 Gold Cup to recover from a grueling cup season, they had a great run to the final. Although they lost the final to Mexico, their ceiling without the best player was well evident.

Ahead of the World Cup, Pulisic played just 34 games for Milan in the 2025/26 season due to various injuries. But with 10 goals and four assists in all competitions, he had a productive season whenever he played.

Christian Pulisic will be fired up after finally regaining full health as the USMNT is five straight victories away from creating history. A victory will take them into the round of 16 against the winner of the Belgium-Senegal clash. While a defeat is not entirely out of the picture, the unfortunate outcome will end the dream of a generation.