Christian Pulisic showed he belonged on the U.S. national team Friday night against Mexico in Columbus. He drove forward with Bundesliga bravura. He worked neat combinations with Jozy Altidore and Bobby Wood in the final third. He refused to be physically intimidated, holding his ground against body slams, double marking and late tackles.
And like every American player who has earned his stars and stripes, he proved he's capable of a bad touch.
It came toward the end of a first half in which the U.S. was outplayed, outthought and outcoached at a venue where the Americans had never previously been out-anything-ed.