ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — After watching Christian Pulisic repeatedly get hacked down and then removed early for his safety during the United States’ crucial 4-0 World Cup qualifying win over Panama, American former goalkeeper Kasey Keller predicted top European clubs may refuse to release players to national teams unless referees in CONCACAF better protect stars.
“We’re not going to let you play in these kind of games with referees and federations that are going to let you get hit like this, because we’re not going to put that investment in a player that then we’re going to lose for stretches,” the ESPN analyst envisioned them saying.