Christian Pulisic’s ‘mirror’ shirt claps back at Guillermo Ochoa after USMNT win over Mexico in World Cup qualifying

Christian Pulisic took a dig at Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa by revealing a shirt that read “man in the mirror” after his goal in Friday’s 2-0 win in a World Cup qualifying match — a reference to Ochoa’s statements that the USMNT wants to “mirror” its soccer image after El Tri.

– ESPN+ viewers’ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more
– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access

Pulisic put the U.S. in front minutes after coming off the bench in the 74th minute with a glancing header. Weston McKennie struck from close range shortly before full-time to give the Americans a third straight win over CONCACAF rivals Mexico.

Earlier this week, Ochoa told TUDN that “Mexico is the mirror in which the [U.S.] wants to see itself and wants to copy,” which prompted U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter to respond by saying “it shows that we have a long way to go to get the respect of Mexico.”

It was Chelsea star Pulisic who had the final say on the matter, with the team’s social media account even referencing the song by the same name by Michael Jackson.

if you wanna make the world a better place,
take a look at yourself then make the change… pic.twitter.com/ST7fa1e3hr

— U.S. Soccer MNT (@USMNT) November 13, 2021

After the win at Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium, Pulisic said: “I was really happy to come in and help my team win this game, break the deadlock; to get the first goal was huge, we were so happy with that performance today.”

Speaking to reporters after the game about the shirt, Pulisic tried to downplay it.

“I think you guys know the message, I don’t want to speak on it too much, it’s not a big thing, not trying to cause controversy,” he said.

He then quipped that “I actually wrote it in the mirror” before saying it was written by someone else for him.

U.S. winger Timothy Weah said he and defender DeAndre Yedlin…