Can the 2022 FIFA World Cup be deemed a complete failure for the USMNT? Surviving a group that included Iran, England, and Wales to progress to the Round of 16, only to lose to the Netherlands, led to the American team facing criticism from their home fans. However, skipper Christian Pulisic has vocally admitted that he has no ‘regrets‘ about how the team performed.

For starters, one has to give credit to the Stars and Stripes for being able to put themselves out in Qatar. After all, the failure to make it to Russia for the 2018 World Cup had left their heart heavy. But even though they managed to cross the group stages, it was the first knockout round that saw them head back to the States, that too, against a team like the Dutch. Though sadness remains for not being able to progress further, they at least patted themselves on the back for doing the most they could.

“It’s hard to say we were pleased,” began Pulisic while speaking to GQ during an exclusive chat. “We were happy with how we played in the group stage. I thought we put on some really good performances, and I think we proved a lot of people wrong and showed what we were all about.” When asked if there were any regrets, the AC Milan star added, “No, because I really do feel like we did try, we left everything out there.”

Pulisic acknowledges that there are many games in his career where he might look back and reflect on how he could have done things differently. However, he views these moments as lessons and strives to apply those learnings in future situations. So it’s safe to say that the 3-1 defeat to the Netherlands provided Pulisic and Co. with valuable insights about themselves, which they can focus on improving moving forward.

“I think we’re happy with the showing, but we’re not satisfied in saying, ‘Oh, yeah, now we’ve done it, we’ve accomplished this.’ We haven’t accomplished anything, but it’s all part of the learning process, like I said. And honestly, that loss just [gives] us that much hunger to go into the next one and try to win..,” concluded the 26-year-old.

Undoubtedly, it is a remarkable approach from the American boys as keeping regrets would only mar their case to become the best. What he does feel remorse for, however, is how his former manager was treated by his own fans!

Christian Pulisic and Co. wanted to keep ‘growing’ under Gregg Berhalter

In the aftermath of 2022, calls grew for Gregg Berhalter’s dismissal. But such wasn’t the sentiment among the players, who rather felt that their former coach was treated badly according to their performance in Qatar. From the players’ perspective, they felt confident about their situation, but viewing it from others’ perspectives is something Pulisic considers ‘unfair‘ towards Gregg.

“It just kind of sucked at the time that, that whole thing had to happen, because I think in any other normal world it would have just, it would have just continued,” said Pulisic in a similar interview.

Pulisic and his teammates were hesitant to part ways with Berhalter, largely due to their fear of starting over with a new manager. Instead, the American squad was determined to address and correct their mistakes under Gregg’s guidance. “We wanted to keep growing. At the time, we wanted to just pick up where we let—we didn’t want to have to restart anything. We felt like we were in a really good point, really good spot,” admitted Pulisic.

While there’s nothing that Christian Pulisic and Co. can do, at least they see the 2022 World Cup failure in high regard!