Attacker Yunus Musah of the United States and AC Milan said that the relationship he built with colleague Christian Pulisic both on and off the field during the Serie A season will be beneficial as the club prepares for a busy summer that will include the Copa América.
Musah stated, “I’ve gotten to connect with Christian a lot over the past year, spending a lot of time with him this season on and off the field,” on Monday at the U.S. team’s availability. “It’s been great to connect, because I didn’t get the chance to do it much today at camp, so it’s been nice to do that the whole year.”
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Prior to the 2023–24 season, Pulisic and Musah both signed with AC Milan in the summer. Throughout the season, which saw them place a distant second in Serie A behind Inter Milan, the team found success at various moments thanks to their contributions.
The midfield player got off to a quick start before sustaining an injury in December that kept him out of action until he slowly made his way back into the starting lineup.
“My season went really well in the beginning until December when I got a little injury,” Musah stated. “That was fantastic—I played a lot of games in the league and Champions League—so you can assume that things would continue that way for the entire season. However, things happen, and you must adapt.
“I started playing in some big games again toward the end of the season, including the derby and the Europa League. I’ve had a terrific season since I’ve been supporting and hanging out with the squad nonstop. “The first season has been good.”
In the meantime, Pulisic had an incredible debut season with the Italian team, breaking Kaka’s 18-year-old record for the most goals scored by a midfield player—not counting penalties—with 12 goals.
“On the field, he’s grown so much playing on the right-wing,” said Musah. “He’s been our team’s best attacker this season, scoring goals and dishing out assists with such effectiveness. The manager’s confidence in him was reciprocated on the field, as the manager had faith in him and offered him confidence.”
The two will now team up as the United States gets ready for friendlies against Brazil and Colombia in advance of the 2024 Copa América. Group C includes the United States, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Panama.
“Colombia is an intricate opponent. They play every game with great intensity,” Musah remarked. They are quite physically strong, particularly in defense. They have a lot of skill in the attack as well, in my opinion, especially Luis Díaz, so this game will be very beneficial to our preparations. We are up against a formidable foe who will see the best of us.
We believe it is crucial to put ourselves to the test against the greatest since it is only by competing against the best that we can improve. It’s a terrific idea to put ourselves to the test before Copa América to identify what needs improvement. Additionally, attempt to gain momentum and win these games.”
The American team’s international tournament begins on June 23 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, with a match against Bolivia.
