"Be careful throwing stones when you live in a glass house." Jermaine Jones didn't come to politely disagree with Landon Donovan, Carli Lloyd, and Sydney Leroux — he came to end the argument.
The 69-cap USMNT veteran posted a blunt defence of Christian Pulisic on social media this week, pushing back against the wave of criticism the AC Milan forward has faced since the United States were hammered 4-1 by Belgium in the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup. "I strongly believe Christian Pulisic is the greatest American player of all time," Jones wrote. "I had the privilege of playing with some of the U.S. players and for me, no one matches him."
A tournament to forget — and an injury that makes it worse
Pulisic's World Cup was difficult to watch. His brightest moment came in the opening win against Paraguay, where he looked like the player AC Milan are paying for. Then a calf injury in the second half pulled him out of the following game entirely. He came back as a substitute in the loss to Türkiye, played close to the full 90 in the Round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, and then, against Belgium, was hauled off again — this time with a microfracture and bone bruise in his right leg.
The USMNT confirmed the diagnosis on Thursday. He now faces a race to be fit for the start of the Serie A season, which adds a fresh layer of concern for Milan going into the new campaign. Their wide forward depth will be tested early if Pulisic misses the opener, and that's a variable worth watching in Serie A markets.
Jones wasn't interested in letting the pile-on continue, and he made a fair point about selective outrage: "What about the other players who had a really bad day? Dest, Ream, Freese? I watched the game — they all had shockers. So what? That's football."
The wider picture
It's a reasonable challenge. Pulisic became the face of U.S. Soccer's golden generation and, by extension, the face of their disappointments. That's the deal when you're the best player — you absorb the blame disproportionately. But singling him out while the rest of the squad's performances go largely unremarked says more about expectations than reality.
Pulisic himself posted a measured response on Wednesday. "It simply wasn't good enough from us in the end," he wrote. "I wanted to deliver so much more."
Now he's dealing with a fractured bone and the noise of former internationals questioning his legacy. Jones, at least, isn't one of them.
