The US missed out on participation in the 2018 World Cup in Russia but are now one of eight teams to qualify for at least eight of the last nine World Cup finals dating back to 1990.

Pulisic played 84 minutes in their 2-0 loss to Costa Rica last night, though a win earlier in the week against Panama all but sealed their qualification. The US needed to avoid a six-goal loss or more in Costa Rican capital San Jose last night to see them qualify for Qatar 2022.

Despite the huge celebrations at full-time for Gregg Berhalter’s side, Chelsea’s No.10 was still disappointed with the defeat despite the result rendering meaningless.

‘Definitely frustrating because I hate to lose. It was a great atmosphere in the stadium. We lost concentration twice on set-pieces and that’s how it goes. Obviously, we are still proud that we are going to the World Cup,’ Pulisic said.

‘I am extremely proud of this group. It is a bit of a weird feeling as I hate to lose so much, but I cannot wait to go to the World Cup.

‘It’s definitely been a rollercoaster. It is never easy to come down and play in these CONCACAF countries, we know that. We battled through most of it,’ the forward added.

‘At the end of the day we're in the top three and we're going to the World Cup so we should be proud.’

Pulisic will now return to Cobham to help Chelsea finish the season as strongly as possible. We have seven games throughout April in three competitions, and he admits that is now his focus before he thinks about preparing for the winter competition – in which numerous Blues stars will also be involved.

‘Preparation [will follow]. Continuing to do well at club level and then we'll get back together and get as much training in as we can, and get ready for the big event.’