It's taken a year, but Mauricio Pochettino appears to have landed on the best way to accentuate the U.S.'s attacking strengths

The former Union centerback seems an ideal fit for the three-back defense that Mauricio Pochettino is testing. This month's games vs. Ecuador and Australia offer the chance to make an impression.

Pulisic missed a penalty for AC Milan, and the match finished 0-0 at the Allianz Stadium. Pulisic was called up for the national team and trained with the rest of the USMNT. Just a day before the friendly against Ecuador, Mauricio Pochettino hinted that Pulisic may be out for the match.

Let's take a look at the five most interesting matches you can watch over the International break: Friendly: United States vs. Ecuador, 10:30 p.m. Friendly: United States vs. Australia, 9 p.m.

The USMNT, playing mostly without Christian Pulisic, battled Ecuador to a 1-1 draw Friday at Q2 Stadium in Austin. Folarin Balogun scored for the USA.

Christian Pulisic stirred up controversy by not playing for the U.S. in the Gold Cup. Based on his play in Italy, it appears he made the right call.

The Medford native has critics among fans of the U.S. national team and his club, the English Premier League's Leeds United. But plenty of people see the roles he could play for both.

In an interview with GOAL USA, Sullivan participated in a quick game of staying silent until he heard his greatest USMNT player of all time. As the names of former USMNT players passed by, Christian Pulisic's name came up, but to the surprise of some fans, Sullivan remained silent.