With the 2026 World Cup fast approaching, U.S. men’s national team star Christian Pulisic is set to grace the cover of Time Magazine.
Pulisic is featured on the cover of the May 25 issue of Time, which goes on sale on Friday, May 15.
The 27-year-old will be the face of the team as it embarks on a home World Cup, which runs from June 11 through July 19 in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Pulisic will hope to lead the USMNT on a deep run, galvanizing the country behind soccer in a way that can only happen during a World Cup.
In order to do that, Pulisic will likely have to find a way to end a scoring drought that has lasted all of 2026 so far.
Pulisic has not scored a goal with AC Milan since December after finding the net 10 times in the first half of the season. On the international level, he hasn’t scored for the USMNT since 2024.
“I plan on scoring goals,” he told Time regarding his drought.
When asked if he had a message to anyone concerned about the goals drying up, he replied: “Such bad questions. I’m not concerned about it, man.”
“You have to have that kind of delusional confidence.” Christian Pulisic is already the most influential American men’s soccer player in history. In a rare interview, Pulisic talks about his career progression, playing the World Cup on home soil, and more: https://t.co/9MoImpqnCzpic.twitter.com/UFK2gicfQJ
— TIME (@TIME) May 7, 2026
Pulisic on Melton break-up
It’s difficult to prove any connection between on-field performance and off-field turmoil, but fans have noticed that Pulisic’s dip in form has coincided with his breakup with Alexa Melton.
Pulisic and the pro golfer went public with their relationship in 2024, but were broken up when Time conducted its first interview with Pulisic in February.
Melton caused a stir last month when she suggested Pulisic had joined the private, membership-based dating app Raya before they were broken up.
Amid plenty of public scrutiny, Melton clarified that Pulisic was “not a cheater” in a subsequent social media post.
Though Pulisic did confirm to Time that he and Melton had split, he declined to go into the reason behind the breakup.
“She was a lot of fun, and she supported me in every way,” he said of Melton. “She wanted to push me to enjoy my life a little bit more and do things with her and do things just in general. And I was grateful for that.”
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Christian Pulisic on Time Magazine cover ahead of World Cup
