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Christian Pulisic will almost certainly enjoy his two weeks away from Chelsea. Not because he will be able to rest and recharge like the majority of the first-team squad. Quite the opposite in fact.

Shortly after the Blues' 2-0 win over Tottenham on Sunday, the 23-year-old hopped on a plane, but there were no thoughts of a brief holiday. Instead, he returned to the U.S. ahead of his country's World Cup qualifiers against El Salvador, Canada and Paraguay.

Pulisic will be tasked with ensuring the USMNT book their place in Qatar later this year. He is the side's talisman and leader. The man nicknamed Captain America by supporters and compared to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in his homeland. There is pressure, responsibility,

"Going into a national-team game, I never thought that I need to perform because everyone is expecting me to be the best player," Pulisic explained in an interview with GQ last year. “But I would put pressure on myself because I wanted to do well. I wanted to be that player that everyone wanted me to be.”

Pulisic has been able to thrive under the microscope while on international duty. The Chelsea winger captained the USMNT to a 3–2 victory in the first-ever CONCACAF Nations League final against Mexico last year, scoring the winner from the penalty spot in the second half of extra time.

He also struck a crucial opener five minutes after coming off the bench against the same opposition during a World Cup qualifier in November.

Pulisic's status within the U.S. squad is set. It's a very different story back at Chelsea. The American is midway through his third season at Stamford Bridge and has yet to cement his place in the starting XI.

Injuries have played their part – and there have been a