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Hershey teenager becomes youngest American to play in World Cup qualifying match

PENN TWP., Pa. – A teenager from Hershey made national soccer history Tuesday night, becoming the youngest player to represent the U.S. in a World Cup qua...

PENN TWP., Pa. - A teenager from Hershey made national soccer history Tuesday night, becoming the youngest player to represent the U.S. in a World Cup qualifying match.

2016 had already been a season of debuts for 17-year-old Christian Pulisic. In January, he broke into the first team for Borussia Dortmund, one of Germany’s most prominent soccer clubs. In February, he became the youngest American ever to compete in the UEFA Europa League, one of Europe’s biggest international soccer competitions.

And on Tuesday night, Pulisic came on as a substitute in the 81st minute of the U.S.’s 4-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Guatemala, becoming the youngest American ever to play in a World Cup qualifier.

“He's very unique,” Nick Hostetter, one of Pulisic’s former coaches with Pennsylvania Classics, a soccer club based in Lancaster County, said Wednesday. “He’s hard-working; he did a lot of it himself.”

Reached by phone Wednesday night, Pulisic’s mom, Kelley, who was driving back from the match in Columbus, Ohio, called it a “surreal experience” to see her son on the pitch.

Those who know Pulisic say it's been a whirlwind the last few months for him, including making his professional debut for Borussia Dortmund as one of the youngest ever soccer players in Germany’s Bundesliga, which can be seen weekends here on FOX43.

It was a dream forged in the youth ranks at the Pennsylvania Classics soccer club.

“Through his youth development days here at Classics, he actually played in the academy against older guys and got that that fear factor out of the way and you don't see any hint of that right now,” Doug Harris, president of Pennsylvania Classics, said. “You don't see any of that.”

Pulisic started with Pennsylvania Classics at a young age. His father Mark, who was a player for the Harrisburg Heat, was one of his coaches. Over the years, Christian also trained with several European clubs before Dortmund called with an offer to join their academy two years ago.

“You would have to take the ball away from him to get him in the house to go to sleep or to eat dinner,” Hostetter said. “I think he was he was very driven, very passionate about it even at a young age. He was just in love with the soccer ball.”

Although it was a moment Pulisic and those closest to him will never forget, they say there are still plenty more goals to score and achieve.

“He's got to go back and do it all over again and work hard,” Harris said, mentioning Pulisic’s immediate trip back to Germany to continue his training. “So that's a good thing for young players to achieve the level of success that he has, okay, but then they're grounded enough that they’ve got to come back and start work the very next day. It's a great lesson.”

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