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Chelsea star Christian Pulisic has opened up about his worm celebration during the USA's 5-1 win over Panama in the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The talismanic winger struck a hat-trick as the Yanks took another giant step towards securing a place in the finals. His three-goal salvo included two penalties, and after scoring the second, he broke into a unique celebration after running to a corner.
Pulisic took to the ground and did a worm before picking himself up again to greet his onrushing teammates. After the game, he was obviously asked about the unusual celebration, to which the 23-year-old said that it was a request from a young fan.
As reported by journalist Brian Sciaretta, the former Borussia Dortmund star said:
“I met someone really special yesterday. His name was Mason, and his one request was that if I scored, he wanted to see a worm celebration. That’s what that was for.”
Mason Ogle, a USMNT fan, met the national team players ahead of Sunday's match. Ogle is diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. He was recognised as the USMNT's matchday ambassador on Sunday.
The 15-year-old has overcome seemingly insourmountable odds to play for his hight school football team. He has taken chemotherapy and has a prosthetic knee. Ogle met with the team at training ahead of the match and made a small request of Pulisic. The 23-year-old was only too happy to oblige.
With Paul Arriola and Jesus Ferreira also chipping in with a goal apiece, the USA raced to a 4-0 lead before half-time. Pulisic then brought up his hat-trick, his first in international football, in the 65th minute with a composed finish into the far corner from inside the box.
Nashville midfielder Anibal Godoy pulled one back for the beleaguered visitors, a consolation strike, during the closing moments of normal time.
Pulisic guiding US back into the FIFA World Cup
The USA are second only to Canada in the third round of the qualifiers in the CONCACAF region, with 25 points from 13 games.
Going into the final matchday against Costa Rica, the Yanks will confirm their place at the Qatar showpiece unless they suffer a six-goal defeat against Costa Rica. It will be their first appearance in the competition since the 2014 edition in Brazil. as the team failed to qualify last time following a poor qualifying campaign.
However, winds of change have blown since then, with the United States seeing an influx of talented young stars in the squad, led by Pulisic himself.
After last night's hat-trick, Pulisic now has 21 goals in 47 games, which is the joint seventh-most in the team's history. He has been a central figure in their World Cup qualification pursuit with five goals, the most in the region after only Canada's Cyle Larin (7).
The best part is that the Chelsea man is still only 23. With similarly young starlets like Giovanni Reyna, Timothy Weah, Tyler Adams and Zack Steffen by his side, the USA's future looks promising.
