“A few of the players criticizing Christian for [missing the Gold Cup] have come to me in the past and said, ‘Coach, would you mind not bringing me in for this friendly international match? Because I’m absolutely exhausted, I’m very close to being injured, or I’m fighting this.’ And we negotiate it, we work it out, right? I’m confident Christian Pulisic called his coach and worked it out. I think he’s that much of a professional where he worked it out with [Mauricio] Pochettino. I think the big rift is that a lot of people feel if your national team calls, you should always come. I agree with that, unless you have an agreement with the head coach. I don’t believe that what happened with Turkey, Switzerland, and games in the Gold Cup are going to matter in the least what happens in the next summer. I really believe Christian Pulisic has the respect of his players and he’s going to come in and he’s going to be a leader. And he will give 1000% of himself.”
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