Christian Pulisic, Landon Donovan & the U.S. Soccer Parent Problem

In this episode of Unleashed, Eric Wynalda takes a deep dive into the latest wave of controversy surrounding Christian Pulisic, the CBS documentary that put his father Mark Pulisic in the spotlight, and the never-ending debate about player criticism in American soccer.

Eric calls out Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, and others for their takes on Pulisic, explains why MLS is still the worst place for U.S. players to prepare for a World Cup, and unpacks how “pay-to-play” culture has created overbearing parents that think their opinions matter more than they should.

From the Reyna–Berhalter family feud to Tim Weah calling critics “evil,” Eric breaks down the messy intersection of players, parents, pundits, and U.S. Soccer’s broken development system. His message is clear: stop the noise, grow up, and let the players prepare to win in 2026.

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