Captain America and the start of promising times

Pulisic threw himself at the ball. Iran keeper, Alireza Beiranvand, was in close attendance so there was every chance that Pulisic would harm himself.

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN

Yet, he didn't care. He was fuelled by the memory of October 10, 2017. In a World Cup qualifier at Trinidad & Tobago, US, prohibitive favourites, arrive at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva. On the line was a remarkable run that saw them qualify for all World Cups from 1990.

Over a remarkable 90 minutes, T&T pulled off the unthinkable. Pulisic scored one that night but it wasn't enough. People associated with the USMNT continue to talk about that night, it's almost a verb. For Pulisic, it was more than a disappointment. It had become a millstone. Nineteen then, he was hailed as US football's great modern hope. Only a teen, yet the disappointment hit him full on.

"I just want every USA soccer fan reading this to understand, that no matter what decisions are made over these next couple of years ... no matter what changes are implemented ... no matter who the coach is, or what the roster looks like: I'm going to be obsessed with winning. And I'm going to be obsessed with doing my part to help US Soccer get over the hump," he wrote in a letter addressed to US fans a month or so after that night in Couva.