One Extraordinary Photo: US forward Christian Pulisic denied by Turkey goalkeeper

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INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Marcio Sanchez has been a staff photographer with The Associated Press since 2002. He started in San Francisco and later moved to Los Angeles. Sanchez is currently is a U.S. news photo assignment manager.

The AP tribune position at the World Cup is designed to capture scoring plays from the perspective of the attacker, goalkeeper, and defenders with minimal obstruction. I focused on U.S. forward Christian Pulisic, who was playing in his first match since being sidelined with an injury. I anticipated he would be involved in scoring opportunities, and he was.

Based on pre-tournament discussions with editors, I worked with a 400mm lens to show the full anatomy of the play. As Pulisic entered the attacking zone, I stayed locked on him while keeping the goalkeeper in frame. I shot a sequence, timing the moment the goalkeeper dove and the ball deflected off the post.

The image captures the tension and split-second drama of a key scoring chance while highlighting one of the World Cup’s recurring storylines: exceptional goalkeeping. Turkey’s goalkeeper made several crucial saves, including two against Pulisic, helping secure a 3–2 victory.

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