SEATTLE (AP) — U.S. star Christian Pulisic will miss Friday's World Cup match against Australia because of a calf injury and was replaced in the starting lineup by Ricardo Pepi.
United States coach Mauricio Pochettino made the announcement during an interview with Fox about 90 minutes before the kickoff at Lumen Field in Seattle. On Thursday, Pochettino said Pulisic is in a “much better” spot than he was last Friday, and that he would be available for the Americans' next game against Turkey if he could not play against Australia.
“Today, he was training in the morning in the camp and I’ve seen the feelings are good,” Pochettino told Fox on Friday. “I hope as soon as possible he can be ready to be selected again and to be part of the team. Now, we need to be focused on our team and the players that are going to play."
The move is a setback for a U.S. team that defeated Paraguay 4-1 in its opener on June 12 and with a win would clinch advancement to the round of 32.
Pulisic left the game at halftime after helping create the opening goal by splitting a pair of defenders before passing to Weston McKennie, then setting up Folarin Balogun for the second goal.
Pochettino said the 27-year-old attacker was kicked in the back of his left calf during a training session ahead of the game and felt tightness during the match. Pulisic trained on his own in the leadup to the game against Australia.
Pulisic has 33 goals in 87 international appearances.
Pepi was the only addition to the U.S. starting lineup. Pochettino decided to insert the 23-year-old striker, who was one of the final cuts from the 2022 World Cup roster, over a few other accomplished players.
Brenden Aaronson, a winger who had four goals and five assists for Leeds last season, and Tim Weah, a Marseille forward who can impact a game with his speed on either wing, both remain on the bench.
Gio Reyna, who scored the Americans’ final goal against Paraguay and has provided moments of dynamic playmaking from the wing, will be a reserve once again.
With Pepi in for Pulisic, the U.S. hopes to reward its supporters and justify the wave of momentum that is building around the team.
“What excites me is that the entire world, the entire nation is behind us,” midfielder Cristian Roldan said. “I think that they enjoyed watching us play, and at the end of the day what we want to do is inspire and motivate the next generation. ... We have to build off it, and that’s the truth. We can’t just talk about it: We have to show out against Australia.”
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
United States' Christian Pulisic celebrates after an own goal by Paraguay's Damian Bobadilla during the World Cup Group D soccer match in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)
United States' Christian Pulisic (10) during the World Cup Group D soccer match in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)
United States' Christian Pulisic (10) runs with the ball during the World Cup Group D soccer match between the United States and Paraguay in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, June 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)
TAMPA, Florida (AP) — Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha will have his family close by when his team takes on Uruguay on Sunday, days after his standout performance against Spain turned him into one of the most talked about players of the World Cup.
The 40-year-old was named player of the match in Cape Verde’s goalless draw on Monday, a display that brought him international attention and a surge in popularity on social media.
Among the fans cheering him on in the U.S. are his father, Jose Pedro Dias, and brother, Delmiro Évora Nascimento, who also is a soccer player. Vozinha’s mother, who had initially faced difficulties obtaining a visa, is also expected to arrive in the United States ahead of Sunday’s game.
Speaking before Thursday’s training session at Cape Verde’s training base in Tampa, Vozinha said having his family nearby was one of the most meaningful aspects of his World Cup experience.
“They always support me in everything I do, so having my mother here is something special. My father is here too, and my brother as well, so I’m very happy,” he said.
Vozinha’s full name is Josimar José Évora Dias. His father said he was named after Josimar, a defender in Brazil’s squad in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
“I watched the matches and fell in love with the Brazilian national team,” Dias said. “I really enjoyed it and there were a few players who stood out; one of them was Josimar, a right-back, who scored two goals and really made his mark at that World Cup.”
Like other fans cheering on the team at its training base in Tampa, Dias was beaming with pride over Cape Verde’s successful start to its first ever World Cup.
“As a father, I feel immense pride. All Cape Verdeans right now feel proud to be Cape Verdean and of Cape Verde’s current performance; it’s something we could never have imagined would be possible,” he said.
Vozinha’s brother agreed.
“I’ve no words to describe this moment,” he said. “We just have to live it because it’s a once-in-a-lifetime moment for a professional footballer – to be at the World Cup, to play against Spain, to put in the performance he did.”
RVs full of Cape Verde fans, dressed in the blue of the nation’s flag and adorned with matching beach hats and flags as capes, arrived in the small parking lot outside the training ground in Tampa.
One of them, Benjamin Ferrera, called the draw with Spain “unbelievable.”
“I don’t have words for it, because nobody expected it. We are just 500,000 people on small islands. To be on this type of stage with the world watching us is just magnificent,” he said.
Ferrera was born in Cape Verde but now lives in Massachusetts, which hosts the largest portion of the Cape Verdean diaspora in the United States and is sometimes called Cape Verde’s 11th island.
He is also part of the security team at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, one of the host venues at this year’s tournament.
“We’re all about joy,” Ferrera said. “When I grew up, I always heard that Cape Verde doesn’t have football, that we would never make a World Cup. Today I’m proud to say we’re here and we are going to make history.”
The archipelago nation off the west coast of Africa was the only one of the four debutants at the tournament to avoid defeat in its first game. If you ask Andreia Levy, an organizer for the Cape Verde supporters’ group, 12 Sharks, it was fate.
“Of course, I trusted the guys,” she said. “We knew that it was possible to do something here.”
Zach Pascuzzi is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha celebrates as holds the flag of his country during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Spain and Cape Verde in Atlanta, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha (1) makes a save during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Spain and Cape Verde in Atlanta, Monday, June 15, 2026. (Miguel Martinez/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Cape Verde fans celebrate after the World Cup Group H soccer match between Spain and Cape Verde in Atlanta, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser)
Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha (1) waves a flag for fans after a 0-0 draw during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Spain and Cape Verde in Atlanta, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
