Weston McKennie defends USMNT teammates from criticism

Straits Times

2 days ago

Juventus' Weston McKennie has defended his United States teammates in the face of criticism from Landon Donovan. PHOTO: AFP
LOS ANGELES – A day after Landon Donovan lambasted members of the US men's national team who decided to skip this summer's friendlies and CONCACAF Gold Cup, midfielder Weston McKennie came to the defence of his teammates.
Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson and Yunus Musah are among the USMNT mainstays who are not with the team, ostensibly to rest after the European season.
The national squad are also missing numerous other players due to injury or involvement in the upcoming Club World Cup, where McKennie is set to compete with Juventus.
While lauding Cristiano Ronaldo for helping lead Portugal to the Uefa Nations League championship on June 8 with a win over Spain, Donovan took a shot at the current USMNT absentees.
'This is what it means to represent your country,' he said, speaking of Ronaldo on the Fox broadcast in which he was a pundit for the final.
'This is what it means. And if you don't want to take this as a professional soccer player, as someone who gets the opportunity to wear that jersey and take it seriously and responsibly, then don't come in. This is what it means.
'(Ronaldo is) 40 years old. He's played a long-ass season. He's tired. He's out there grinding. Hurt himself in the process, and I can't help but think about some of our guys on vacation, not wanting to play in the Gold Cup. It's pissing me off.'
The US team just took a third consecutive loss, falling 2-1 to Turkey on June 7 in a friendly at East Hartford, Conn.
McKennie was asked about Donovan's comments by USA Today Sports on June 9 in Italy, where he is in training with Juventus.
'Obviously, none of us take for granted playing for the national team,' he said. 'None of us want to lose games. All of us want to compete.'
McKennie added about Donovan's remarks: 'No names were named. Coming off a long season, a stressful season, obviously, some players feel a different way about it, and some players feel another way.
'But the comments are comments. Everyone has their own opinions, and that's life, and that's football.
'Obviously, like I said before, none of us take for granted that we get to represent a national team because it's one of the biggest honours that we can have in the sport of football.
'So, any chance that we get, we want to play. But obviously, if you don't feel like your body is in the right condition, and you don't feel like your body is in the best form or shape or whatever, to be able to do that at 100 per cent, and you feel like you're risking injury, then it's better to let someone else go in that is completely 100 per cent.'
Also on June 9, Mark Pulisic, Christian's father, posted on Instagram a ChatGPT summary of the time when Donovan took a sabbatical from playing in 2012-13.
'Landon Donovan took his sabbatical because he was feeling both physically and mentally exhausted after years of intense competition and the pressure that comes with being a top athlete,' the AI programme said in a response to the prompt.
'He'd been playing professionally from a young age and had participated in multiple World Cups, so he felt the need to step back and take some time for himself. This break allowed him to rest, travel, and ultimately return to the game with a refreshed mindset.'
Christian Pulisic 'liked' his father's post.
However, Donovan is not alone in being critical of Pulisic's decision with former US great Alexi Lalas levelling similar criticisms, saying the team need as much playing time together as they can get with the World Cup coming to the US, Mexico and Canada in 2026. REUTERS
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