Christian Pulisic Must Be Great: World Cup Group D Best Player Rankings

After two decades of trying to bring the World Cup back to the United States, the week is finally upon us where the U.S. Men’s National Team will play at home on Friday against Paraguay to start Group D.

Although the American team has been hyping up their “golden generation” for cycles now, we’ve reached a boiling point: It’s put up or shut up time for the U.S., including their star forward Christian Pulisic.

Can Pulisic and the U.S. make it through to the knockout rounds as the top seed, or will a team that possesses their own “golden generation” superstars be too much to handle?

Here are my rankings for the three best players of Group D at the World Cup.

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3. Christian Pulisic (USA, AC Milan)

Pulisic makes my top three players of Group D, but only barely. Four years ago during the Qatar World Cup, there was a dream that the American star could grow into a top-25 player in the sport if everything aligned for him. Instead, he’s maybe a top-75 player at the World Cup and is coming off poor form for his club in Milan.

On his best day, Pulisic can still show you why there was such high expectations for him. For one tournament, U.S. fans will hope they get that player.

2. Kenan Yıldız (Turkey, Juventus)

Weston McKennie for the United States is an important piece of the Italian powerhouse Juventus, but 21-year-old Kenan Yıldız is the future of the club. McKennie had a great season for Juventus by making him an irreplaceable member, but he’s closer to overtaking Pulisic than his club teammate, who is one of the best U-21 wingers in the competition.

1. Arda Güler (Turkey, Real Madrid)

12 years ago when the U.S. dreamed of a future World Cup being hosted in their country, they imagined to have a player like Güler playing for them. Although Pulisic and Gio Reyna were great prospects, neither have grown into a player like Güler, who at 21-years-old is already seen as a future key to Real Madrid’s future success. He is imaginative and has one of the nastiest left-footed shots in the tournament. The U.S. will cross their fingers and hope their next big prospect, Cavan Sullivan (16), be even 80% as good as Güler.

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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 7:23 PM.