Christian Pulisic happy with USMNT progress in World Cup qualifying

With the end of World Cup qualifying in sight, Christian Pulisic is happy with what he's seen from his United States teammates so far.

Pulisic is one of the few remaining squad members still around from the infamous 2018 campaign when the Stars and Stripes failed to qualify for the tournament in Russia.

But this is a very different USMNT. In the time since, Major League Soccer has been hard at work exporting talent - including Tyler Adams and Brenden Aaronson - to Europe, while players like Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, and Sergiño Dest have established themselves at some big clubs.

Gregg Berhalter's side head into this latest trio of World Cup qualifiers against El Salvador, Canada, and Honduras second in the group, but with a six-point buffer between themselves and Costa Rica below the playoff spot. Go unbeaten in these latest fixtures and their place in Qatar will be all but assured.

“We're in a good position and by the end of this window, we can be in a great position,” Pulisic told reporters on Wednesday (via MLSsoccer.com). “And that's our focus.”

Though the USMNT are well-placed, they haven't gotten to this point without picking up a few bruises. A 1-1 draw with Jamaica in their previous qualifier was a disappointing result, but not as much as losing 1-0 to Panama in October.

But Concacaf is a tough region to play in, with away games notoriously difficult thanks to unique surroundings and styles. Pulisic is pleased with how his teammates have adapted to adversity so far.

“It's been a good qualifying process so far, I think the guys have definitely learned a lot and seen right from the start that, especially going away in Concacaf, none of these games are easy,” he said.

“We've definitely been up for the challenge, I think we've really stepped up, and yeah, I think we've gotten better and better. I'm excited to see what we can accomplish this camp. And I'm really happy with the way that the team looks.”