My oldest son is a Chelsea fan, he also turned down a few Div 1 scholarship offers to play in college, he knows the game inside and out. He pretty much echoes what you are saying about Pulisic. He told me once, don't laugh, I'm not comparing him to Messi, but he has a lot of on the ball similarities, I think he is right....
I agree with you on USMNT, they need a number of the young talented players to step up and I think they will....I don't think they will struggle scoring goals, but the back 4 is not exactly inspirational....we will see....
Ah, the smash and run game....All the rage in HS teams around here, but don't work in the travel leagues for the most part....