Midway through the second half of the U.S. Men’s National Team’s 1-0 victory over Ecuador in the first of two international friendlies in March, there was a moment when Christian Pulisic was cornered, with the ball at his feet, facing Manchester United’s Antonio Valencia.
He shimmied his hips a couple of teams, did a stepover, and then paused, the ball still, Valencia waiting to pounce. And then, with a beautiful drop of the shoulder and shake of the legs, Pulisic darted around Valencia’s right shoulder as if he was not there. He beat the Ecuadorian so quickly that he ended up dribbling all the way back across to the byline.