One of the most unexpected storylines of this World Cup has been NFL legend Pat McAfee trading his football expertise for soccer analysis. The longtime NFL personality has fully embraced European football and culture and gave his brutally honest analysis of his national team, the USA.

There is no doubt Christian Pulisic had a sad farewell from the 2026 World Cup after they got defeated by the Belgium team. McAfee analysed Pulisic’s performance in the USMNT’s match against Paraguay, which he saw with his own eyes from the stadium. The NFL legend believes he is a great player, and he would love to see him in the 2030 squad, but he is not the player to be so highly dependent on.

“He’s a very good player, but he’s not going to be your one; there’s gonna be another personality who’s going to be your ‘one,'” McAfee said during his live telecast from the Pat McAfee Show podcast on July 13th. “That is what they need. Pulisic is an incredible football player, though. So we need to remember that. But America is the goal; he is kicking the ground. I mean, it was this bad a night, especially after you go on TV and the internet and say we’re gonna win the whole thing. But just know this: 2030, it’s ours.”

Pulisic gave a masterclass performance in the first 45 minutes of their match against Paraguay. Pulisic picked out a perfect pass to find forward Folarin Balogun, who bagged the second goal for the team in the first half. Sadly, he did not return in the second half of the game. He suffered a harsh kick to his left calf, prompting the coaching staff to take him off as a precaution.

Christian Pulisic had a strong first half against Paraguay, assisting Folarin Balogun before being substituted at halftime as a precaution after a calf issue. He later missed the Australia match and was not fully at his best afterward, but he did return in later World Cup games before the U.S. was eliminated by Belgium.

“I mean, there was no luck involved at all, so he had the worst night of his life, and then he broke a bone in his foot,” McAfee argued, “It’s like unlucky, with maybe not even having anywhere near close to his best game, and you put those two together. You got a lot of people saying, ‘Get this guy off, team. We are sick of watching this guy.’ I am not, and I think he really got unlucky.”

The USMNT captain has excellent technique. But he has yet to show the X-factor that Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi consistently bring to a World Cup squad. This painful exit on home soil should just ignite a flame in the young blood to take the World Cup as passionately as a Super Bowl.