The United States is in Mexico, partaking in the 2020 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying Championship. Despite not being on the qualifying squad, there’s one American player hopeful of playing at the Olympics in Tokyo.
Chelsea FC’s Christian Pulisic is 22-years-old and is eligible to play at the Olympics this summer. During his press conference with the media ahead of The Stars and Stripes fixture against Northern Ireland, ESPN relayed the American’s words and desire to play in the Olympics.
“It’s something I’ve thought about and have wanted to play in,” Pulisic said. “Obviously, I can’t control what goes on. What’s best for me at the time and what’s best for the team at the time, I obviously can’t say. But it is something that I would like to play in.”
Before Pulisic can think about booking any summer plans in Tokyo, there a couple of hurdles before that can happen. First, the United States needs to qualify for the summer games. The under-23 is knocking on the door of qualifying but has yet to punch their ticket.
Also, CONCACAF will have its Gold Cup this season, and there’s no way that Chelsea allows Pulisic to play in both tournaments. Likely the club will have him coordinate with the United States to see which of the two competitions he’ll be suiting up for this summer.