‘It’s Bible time’: How religion became part of the USMNT’s World Cup identity

In the third episode of the interminable, nine-part Pulisic docuseries, its subject, Christian Pulisic , sits down at a dining table, pink orchids blooming behind him. “It is what time?” a friend asks him, holding a camera in Pulisic’s face. “Bible time,” Pulisic answers, thumbing through the good book with a pencil perched between his fingers, a notepad turned to a fresh blank page poised beside it. The ever-present cross dangles from his necklace. Pulisic’s faith was not a revelation. He has posted pictures of underlined passages in his Bible on Instagram, too. His fellow United States men’s national team star Weston McKennie’s Instagram bio consists of just four words: “All glory to God.” In his profile picture, McKennie points two index fingers up at the sky, his cross-shaped diamond earrings secured to his lobes. Defender Chris Richards, meanwhile, has also been outspoken about his faith . He once shared that he and 10 or so fellow Crystal Palace players pray together before games , and conduct Bible study. When goalkeeper Matt Freese joined the USMNT, the devout Catholic mentioned in an off-handed comment that he had already met Pulisic in a Bible study session. The team’s head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, is Catholic and almost always wears a bracelet depicting a patron saint. …