It remains unclear whether Christian Pulisic will be good to go against Australia in the USA’s next World Cup 2026 match tomorrow. However, head coach Mauricio Pochettino sounded optimistic about it during his recent press conference.

After playing only 45 minutes in their 4-1 rout of Paraguay in the opener, Pulisic trained apart from his USA teammates on Thursday for the fourth consecutive day due to a nagging left calf injury. The American soccer star was seen wearing a compression sleeve on his calf while doing individual work in the gym.

“Tonight, we have a meeting with our medical staff. We will assess the whole group,” Pochettino told reporters. “He’s evolving and much better from Friday. We will see. If we see he’s not available for tomorrow, he will be available for the next game. I think he’s doing a massive effort trying to be ready.”

Should Pulisic not be fit enough to play against the Socceroos, Pochettino has a few options to replace him, such as Tim Weah, Brenden Aaronson, Sebastian Berhalter, or Gio Reyna, who scored the USA’s final goal and has provided a solid cameo against Paraguay.

MORE:Landon Donovan delivers verdict on USA’s blowout World Cup win against Paraguay

Mauricio Pochettino sends clear message to the USA ahead of Australia match

The USA will attempt to make it two World Cup wins in a row for just the second time in its history, but it will be easier said than done against Australia, fresh from a 2-0 victory against Turkey last weekend. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino is well aware of the challenge the Socceroos pose, as he heaped praise on them.

“They’re very aggressive. They have a great organization. You can see that was difficult for Türkiye to create chances, clear chances,” Pochettino said. “And then in the moment that they recover the ball, they have arrows, and they transition so quick, so fast.”

“For me, it is the mentality, the coach’s mentality. I was talking with him, and really appreciate him and really like him. I see they create a great mentality, and it’s difficult to play with a team that really believe in what they are doing,” he added.

The winner between the USA and Australia will likely take the top spot in Group D, with the third seed from Group B, E, F, I, or J being their first opponent in the knockouts.