Christian Pulisic put on notice ahead of 2026 FIFA World Cup: One missing piece keeps USMNT ace behind Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan

Christian Pulisic has long carried the weight of expectation. From his rise in Europe to becoming the most recognizable American face in the global game, his trajectory has been unlike anything seen before from a player born in the United States. Yet as the debate over the greatest USMNT player of all time resurfaces ahead of the 2026 World Cup, a familiar conclusion keeps emerging: club stardom alone is not enough.

That message has now been delivered clearly, and publicly, by a former national team striker who knows exactly how legacies are forged — and how brutally they are judged. For more than two decades, the benchmark for American excellence has been set by Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan. Their influence went beyond goals and assists. They defined eras, delivered iconic moments, and turned World Cups and continental tournaments into personal stages.

Pulisic’s rise has been different. He has played for bigger clubs, reached higher levels in Europe, and become a genuine global star — something previous generations could only dream of. Today, he is a central figure at Milan, performing week after week on one of soccer’s most historic stages. But according to Herculez Gomez, that alone does not place him above the legends who came before him.

Gomez has been clear about one principle: club careers and national team careers must be judged separately. In an era where American players are increasingly visible in Europe, that distinction matters more than ever. Players like Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams have built impressive club résumés, but Gomez insists that national team impact is the true measure of greatness.

“I’m not talking club career,” Gomez explained. “These players today, in my opinion, have already surpassed them club-career-wise. But when we talk about U.S. Men’s National Team careers? We do have to separate the two.” That separation is where the debate around Pulisic becomes most intense.

What still separates Pulisic from the top

Despite his status as the most talented American player ever, Gomez argues that Pulisic’s international résumé is still incomplete. The 27-year-old has not yet matched Dempsey and Donovan in goals, assists, or defining tournament moments with the national team.

Gomez put it bluntly: “Christian, I think, is in a league of his own, and is the exception to the rule because I firmly believe that, when it’s all said and done, we will consider him the best American player, club and country, ever. But he’s got a long way to go to catch Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan in goals [with the national team] and he’s got an even longer way to go to catch Landon Donovan in assists.”

More importantly, Gomez highlighted something harder to quantify. “He also hasn’t had the moments in multiple World Cups and Confederation Cups and big wins.”

The moment that defines everything

To be considered the greatest USMNT player ever, Pulisic must deliver decisive performances in major international tournaments — particularly the World Cup and Confederation Cup — while leading the national team to meaningful victories.

For Gomez, this generation’s legacy will be written in one place: the 2026 World Cup, played on home soil. Previous icons had their moments — Donovan’s last-gasp heroics, Dempsey’s goals on the world stage, and landmark victories that reshaped perceptions of American soccer. Without similar milestones, even the most glamorous club career remains unfinished in the national narrative.

While the Milan star continues to thrive in Europe, scoring regularly and carrying his club’s attacking burden, the expectation is that he must translate that form to the national team when it matters most.