Pulisic’s rise, after all, has followed his blinding ascent with German titan Borussia Dortmund. He is the junior member of an elite first unit and, last spring, became the youngest import to score in the Bundesliga.

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He is a bold and confident attacker who blends speed of feet with a trait essential to world-class success: speed of thought. American soccer has exported goalkeepers and defenders, defensive midfielders and strikers, but rarely clever, creative attackers.

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His special qualities are not lost on U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who, over six months, has brought along Pulisic in incremental stages: a senior debut in a March qualifier; a first goal in a May friendly; a major roster call for Copa America Centenario in June; and an invitation to a pair of qualifiers over five days this first week in September.

On Friday, the son of former George Mason University soccer players entered in the 66th minute, scored in the 71st, set up Sacha Kljestan’s goal in the 78th and scored again in stoppage time. Given the prestigious No. 10 jersey, Pulisic became the youngest in the program’s century-old history to record a goal in a qualifier.

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They were grand feats — at any age — but begged for perspective. The opponent was St. Vincent and the Grenadines, tied for 21st in the middling region known as CONCACAF and 156th in FIFA’s 210-team rankings. En route to a 6-0 rout, the visiting Americans were already leading 3-0 when the Hershey, Pa., native entered.

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“Coming off the bench when a game is pretty much decided is nice,” Klinsmann said. “Ask any striker — that’s the fun part.”

Klinsmann’s comment was not intended to diminish Pulisic’s performance but to temper impending hype and calls to thrust him into the starting lineup. All seven of his appearances have come as a substitute.

If there’s a time for Pulisic to start a qualifier, though, it’s Tuesday. Technically, the Americans (10 points from five matches) have yet to secure passage to the six-nation final round. But the only way they would fall short would be by losing the match and squandering a massive tiebreaking advantage in goal differential (currently plus-12) over Guatemala (seven points), which will host winless St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

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T&T (11 points) has already clinched one of the group’s two berths in the next stage.

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Asked whether Pulisic’s time has come, Klinsmann said: “It’s a process. It’s easier if you have all the results done and it’s all in your favor and, instead of a World Cup qualifier, it might turn more into a friendly game. That’s a different story.

“But to start a game in World Cup qualifiers with things on the line is tricky. . . . It’s a big difference to start a game or come off the bench. It’s both very important. So if we bring him along and feel, ‘Okay, this is a good opportunity,’ then we’ll do it.”

Klinsmann cited Pulisic’s secondary role with Borussia Dortmund.

“He needs minutes in his club team, as well,” he said. “Starting him is also questioning, ‘How long can he actually go?’ Because we don’t know. He has barely started [in] preseason. He doesn’t have any [Bundesliga] games. So you start him and suddenly he cramps up after 60 minutes because his legs aren’t built yet and you only have three subs. So these are kind of important things.”

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Pulisic did appear in six preseason friendlies (two starts) and scored against Manchester City but did not play in the Bundesliga opener against Mainz last weekend. A loan or transfer before Wednesday’s transfer deadline never materialized.

If he doesn’t start Tuesday, Pulisic might crack the lineup in the friendlies against Cuba on Oct. 7 in Havana and New Zealand four days later in Washington.

“If the moment comes, it comes,” he said. “I’m just really excited to get any minutes I can right now.”