No Pulisic, no problem: how the USA learned to win without their star player

Ricardo Pepi helped fill the gap left by Christian Pulisic’s absence on Friday.Photograph: Robin Alam/ISI Photos/Getty ImagesOnce it was clear that Christian Pulisic’s calf could keep him out of Friday’s match against Australia, Mauricio Pochettino had a lot of options to consider. There is no like-for-like alternative to Pulisic, still the United States’ most important player.Australia entered this game with a point to prove, wanting to build off of their opening win ove