The USA’s depth could be tested earlier than expected at the World Cup. The injury to Christian Pulisic appears to be more of a concern than initially expected, with the star winger spending the first three days of the week training on his own after coming off at halftime in the tournament-opening win over Paraguay.

If Pulisic isn’t able to play against Australia on Friday, his absence will have a domino effect that will be felt across the roster.

Out wide

Against Paraguay, Malik Tillman moved from his starting spot in central midfield after Pulisic was taken off at the break. The Bayer Leverkusen man slid out wide, taking up Pulisic’s position on the left wing.

The move showed Tillman’s versatility, but it also showed how crucial Pulisic is to this team. Clearly, he’s a high-quality player, arguably the most talented player ever produced by America. But his profile and ability to attack players on the dribble is unique to this roster. For all Tillman’s strengths, he wasn’t able to replicate this front-foot dribbling, and it contributed to a bit of a dip at the start of the second half.

Gio Reyna proved the super sub against Paraguay. (Photo: Mike Woitalla)

Against Australia, Mauricio Pochettino has options. Gio Reyna came on for the final 10 minutes against Paraguay and scored a golazo to cap off the victory. He’s a different type of player to Pulisic and certainly doesn’t come close to Pulisic’s pace, but he’s creative and inventive in the final third and has the type of vision to break down a packed defense like Australia’s. However, there are real questions about his ability to play a 90-minute match, and he may be better utilized as a super sub.

Timothy Weah has the pace to replace Pulisic. He also doesn’t have the same dribbling ability and is at his best on the back shoulder of the defense to stretch the field. That type of space isn’t likely to be available against Australia’s low block.

Tim Weah (pictured) replaced Sergiño Dest in the 72nd minute of the USA’s win over Paraguay.

Brenden Aaronson is an interesting candidate. The Leeds United winger is combative and an intriguing match for Australia’s physicality. He’s certainly not a replacement for Pulisic’s on-ball quality, but he causes his own brand of chaos in the final third and can unsettle Australia with his off-ball movement.

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