USMNT 3-2 Senegal, winners and losers: Pulisic hits form, defensive frailties
The United States picked up a confidence-boosting win over No. 14-ranked opponents as the World Cup draws near.
The USMNT secured a hard-fought 3-2 win over Senegal on Sunday in the first of two World Cup warm-up games. Goals from Sergiño Dest, Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun were enough to beat the Africa Cup of Nations finalists.
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino opted not to start with a ‘first-choice’ team against Senegal, perhaps owing to the absence of Chris Richards as he continues his recovery from injury. Nevertheless, this is now business time for Pochettino’s USMNT project and there was real pressure to get the win against Senegal.
After struggling in the March friendlies against Belgium and Portugal, the US were in desperate need of some positive momentum with less than two weeks to go before the start of the World Cup. Here’s a look at the winners, and the losers, from the USMNT’s 3-2 win over Senegal...
Winner - Christian Pulisic
Goalless for 155 days with AC Milan and 559 with the USMNT; Christian Pulisic desperately needed a goal. For all his tireless endeavor, the 27-year-old has not been playing at the level that made him the flag-bearer for this ‘golden generation’ of American soccer. But on Sunday, two weeks out from the biggest stage of his career, Pulisic delivered.
Deployed from the left flank, Pulisic was given the chance to combine with Antonee Robinson and the dynamic duo linked up within the first two minutes. Three minutes later, Pulisic was set free on the left flank and his square ball was turned home by Sergino Dest for the US opener.
Things got even better on the 19th minutes, Pulisic latching on to a neat pass from Ricardo Pepi and finishing coolly. When Pulisic trotted over to the bench for the hydration break a few minutes later, an entire side of the vast Bank of America Stadium rose to applaud ‘Captain America’.
Loser - Defensive organization
Pochettino’s controversial decision to select 10 defenders in his 26-man World Cup roster means that he has plenty of options for the backline. He opted to start with Tim Ream, Mark McKenzie and Alex Freeman against Senegal and there were some teething problems with that new-look defensive trio.
Sadio Mane’s first-half goal came after the ex-Liverpool man strolled in behind the US defense to latch onto a neat through-ball and slot past Matt Turner. Defensive lapses of that nature - against a team of, with all due respect, Senegal’s quality - do not bode well for a deep run this summer.
Across the 90 minutes against Senegal there were six different players in the defensive trio for Pochettino. They acquitted themselves fairly well individually, but it was not the well-honed defensive structure that the US head coach might have hoped for.
Winner - US Soccer
The World Cup build-up had not gone to plan so far in 2026. The high-profile March friendlies returned two comprehensive defeats. The outcry over ticket prices, although not the federation’s fault, has cast a shadow over the long-awaited tournament. Even the roster announcement seemed to disappointment many, as poster boy Diego Luna was surprisingly left off the team.
But after all those struggles, Sunday’s win over Senegal was the sort of spectacle that US soccer would have been dreaming of ahead of the tournament. In front of a packed crowd of 57,741 on a balmy North Carolina afternoon, USMNT outplayed a strong Senegal side. The atmosphere was buoyant and those in attendance were treated to an entertaining - albeit far from perfect - performance from the hosts.
It would have been even better if the United States’ two disallowed goals - one for a narrow offside, one for a soft foul - had stood. However this win over No. 14-ranked Senegal sets the USMNT up well for the summer.
Loser - Chris Brady
Chicago Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady was deserving of his World Cup call-up but had not made a single appearance for the US national team before Sunday. He was made to wait until the second half to get on to the field, becoming the 889th player to wear the jersey, but was forced to wait a little longer due to a wardrobe malfunction.
Just as he was about to step onto the field, Brady realized he had misplaced his jersey. The restart was held back for an agonizing couple of minutes as fellow goalkeeper Matt Freese raced across the field with jersey in hand. Once he was on, things didn’t get much better for Brady. Six minutes after the restart Senegal forward Nicolas Jackson pinched the ball off Miles Robinson and took it round a flailing Brady to level the scores.
He had little else to do in his 45 minutes on the field, often kicking long whenever the ball was at his feet. Brady came into this game as the United States’ third-choice goalkeeper for the summer, and he looks very unlikely to move up in the pecking order.
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