Christian Pulisic heaps praise on Borussia Dortmund team-mate Jadon Sancho

Christian Pulisic says the “sky is the limit” for his Borussia Dortmund team-mate Jadon Sancho.

Teenage sensation Sancho is set to make his first England start when the United States visit Wembley on Thursday.

The 18-year-old has forced his way into Gareth Southgate’s plans by helping Dortmund establish a four-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.

American Pulisic, who will be on the opposing team to his club mate in the London friendly, has backed Sancho for a bright future.

“The sky is the limit for a guy like him,” said Pulisic. “A young player coming through, you can see how much talent and how much skill he has.

“He has done great for Dortmund so far and this season he is doing really well.

“We want to continue to see those things. Hopefully he will continue on this path.”

Sancho, who made his England debut as a substitute in Croatia last month, moved to Germany from Manchester City in 2017 in search of more first-team football.

He has registered five goals and eight assists for Dortmund this season and played the full 90 minutes during Saturday’s 3-2 defeat of title rivals Bayern Munich.

Pulisic also transferred to the Bundesliga as a teenager and says the pair have developed a close friendship.

“Whenever he is going through a tough time he knows I have been through situations like that. He knows to talk to me,” he said. “It’s a cool relationship that we have.

“Obviously competing with him every day in training and being good friends off the field and now getting the chance to play at international level is going to be a fun experience.

“We both want to perform for our countries and we both want to win tomorrow. We are both competitive guys.”

For Pulisic, the international fixture has provided a return to the country where he briefly honed his football skills as a young child.

The 20-year-old lived in Tackley, Oxfordshire for a year during the mid-2000s, playing the game at school and for Northamptonshire-based club Brackley Town.

“I think my passion (for football) definitely grew a lot during that year in England but it’s not where it all started for me,” he said.

“I just remember going to school every day in England – which I didn’t enjoy – and every day as soon as the bell would ring we would go out and be on – it looked like a basketball court, but it was a soccer court with goals, hard floor.

“I was there for hours and my parents had to drive me home. That was my best memory.”

After failing to qualify for the World Cup in the summer, the USA are currently going through a transitional phase under interim coach Dave Sarachan.

The average age of their 28-man squad for the England game is under 24, with 17 of the players aged 23 or younger.

Pulisic, who has scored nine goals in 21 appearances for his country, is regarded by many back home as the poster boy of the national team’s next generation.

While he has grown used to that tag, he played down the responsibility which comes with it.

“I really don’t put that pressure on myself. Obviously a lot of Americans do,” he said.

“I am not constantly checking articles, what people are saying, Twitter. I am not looking at any of that stuff.

“It is not difficult for me to not really worry about the outside noise.”