Pulisic and McKennie face each other as rivals in Italy before joining forces again for US
Weston McKennie thought back to when he first met Christian Pulisic, a pair of 13-year-olds on a bus from a hotel to training camp in Carson, California.
“I used to sit behind him. I used to squirt empty air with a little bit of water into his ear,” McKennie said. “I was scared to take the elevator, so he used to walk with me up the stairs, like 11 flights of stairs, after training all the time.”
A dozen years later, they are mainstays on the U.S. national team as it prepares for this summer’s Copa América and the 2026 World Cup, but first will be rivals when Pulisic’s AC Milan faces McKennie’s Juventus on April 27 or 28 with second place at stake in Italy’s Serie A.
“More fun playing with him, so I don’t really have to worry about him offensively,” McKennie said with a laugh during a conference call Tuesday to promote the match.
Both found success as teenaged American standouts in Europe, struggled in their early 20s and reemerged in 2023-24 for their best club seasons as 25-year-olds.
Related articles
Stars quickly go from tight series over reigning Cup champ to big
DALLAS (AP) — The Dallas Stars got one day off between their Game 7 victory over last year’s Stanley2024-05-08China's Xiaomi releases its first self
(Xinhua) 08:36, March 29, 2024BEIJING, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Chinese tech firm Xiaomi on Thursday nig2024-05-08DeSmith stops 32 shots and Canucks sweep season series with 3
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Casey DeSmith made 32 saves and the Vancouver Canucks strengthened their le2024-05-08Textile enterprises in Zhejiang advance green, high
(Xinhua) 11:19, March 16, 2024A technician makes adjustments on an in-house developed machine at a c2024-05-08Michelle Yeoh shines in VERY quirky tin foil
Michelle Yeoh electrified the 2024 Met Gala red carpet on Monday as she arrived in a tin foil-inspir2024-05-08China sets 2024 GDP growth target at around 5%, showing confidence in economic recovery
(Global Times) 11:31, March 05, 2024Graphic: Global TimesChina on Tuesday set a growth target of aro2024-05-08
atest comment