Get free access to all our World Cup coverage in the app, from kickoff to the trophy lift.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The U.S. men’s national team got its World Cup summer off to a flying, chaotic start with a 3-2 win over Senegal in a friendly Sunday here at Bank of America Stadium.
Christian Pulisic, the star who hadn’t scored in more than five months, broke his barren run with a goal and assist in the first 20 minutes to put the U.S. up 2-0.
A breakdown before halftime, then a pair of appalling mistakes by reserves, let Senegal back into the game, with the African side pulling level at 2-2.
But Folarin Balogun, one of 10 halftime substitutes, put the U.S. back ahead in the 63rd minute. He had another goal disallowed, and a third clear chance saved. The U.S. easily could have had five goals, but settled for three and a victory to snap a two-game losing streak after March defeats to Belgium and Portugal.
Here are our initial thoughts on the match:
The Christian Pulisic breakout game
There is no doubt that this U.S. team goes as Christian Pulisic goes. He was the Americans’ best attacking player in 2022. They need him to be the same in 2026. Going into Sunday’s game, though, Pulisic had not scored since the calendar turned. The five-month drought was cause for concern.
At least for some.
“He is going to score in the World Cup,” U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino told reporters earlier this week. “I really trust in that.”
Pulisic immediately repaid that trust against Senegal. He looked dangerous nearly every time the ball was near him in the first half and after 20 minutes, he had a goal and an assist.
Pulisic started by setting up Sergiño Dest’s finish with neat movement and a pass into the box in the seventh minute, then broke his dry spell in the 20th minute when Ricardo Pepi found him in behind the back line. Pulisic dribbled around goalkeeper Mory Diaw and finished into the empty net. He celebrated with a scream that showed some relief at finally seeing the ball hit the back of the net.
Put on a platter by Pulisic! #USMNT x @VW pic.twitter.com/DOwsOe5pF6
— U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) May 31, 2026
ALREADY A GOAL AND AN ASSIST FOR PULISIC!#USMNT x @VW pic.twitter.com/GC1S2Fqml7
— U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) May 31, 2026
“I’ve had this happen before in my career. Like there’s difficult times and then sometimes, one will bounce off your knee and go in, and then it seems like everything goes in after that,” Pulisic said on Saturday.
The U.S. will hope that is true with less than two weeks left until they open the World Cup.
It was an extremely productive 45 minutes for Pulisic, who was subbed out at halftime.
Give and take of USMNT’s fluid possession
The U.S. bossed the first 20 minutes of Sunday’s match by bossing the ball. As they had at times against Belgium in March, and against Uruguay and Paraguay in November, the Americans were fluid in possession. They flowed side to side, recycling the ball back to defenders when necessary to pull Senegal out, then finding space to attack.
This has been Pochettino’s vision all along.
“The way we understand football, it’s about having the quality players on the squad to play,” he said this past week. “To have more possession than the opponent, that is the idea.”
That vision came to fruition early. The first U.S. goal came after 20 passes. The ball moved from left to right, into the feet of Gio Reyna and Dest, with Alex Freeman and Sebastian Berhalter involved. Then it went back to defenders and back across the field to Antonee Robinson on the left. Because of all the movement, Pepi and Pulisic were able to attack space, with Senegal unbalanced.
That is the upside of how Pochettino wants to play. The downside was evident on Senegal’s goal just before halftime. Like earlier, the U.S. had possession high up the field on the right wing. Freeman, Dest and Berhalter were all around the ball. Then it circulated to the left … and this time, Robinson lost it.
When he did, only three players were behind the ball. Tyler Adams, with no support in midfield, had to drop into the back line to cover for Freeman. That left a hole in the middle of the field — a hole into which Senegal’s Habib Diarra galloped. Diarra fed Mané, and suddenly, a mostly-dominant half became a tight game.
¡RESPONDEN LOS AFRICANOS! 🔥🔥🔥
Sadio Mané marca y acorta distancias ante Estados Unidos 😎
✅ Gol 53 en 125 partidos ⚽️
🇺🇸 @USMNT 2-1 Senegal 🇸🇳
📺📱 EN VIVO por @Telemundo, Peacock y Telemundo APP ➡️ https://t.co/emRSRDMNfb#USMNT #USAvsSEN #FutbolUSA pic.twitter.com/umYLaLbiol
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) May 31, 2026
GKs rotate; but is there a competition?
Chris Brady was all set to make his U.S. men’s national team debut … if only he could find his jersey. The 22-year-old stood on the sideline without his yellow shirt waiting to enter at halftime as a substitute.
Training goalkeeper Andrew Rich raced into the locker room to look for the shirt. Matt Freese, the one U.S. goalkeeper who didn’t play Sunday, sprinted across the field to the far goal to meet U.S. head equipment manager Kyle Robertson behind the goal line, where Robertson dug into his bag, throwing pinnies aside and pulled it out. Freese then ran back across the field with the shirt and threw it at Brady, who quickly put it on and jogged out onto the field and into goal.
Brady was subbed on at halftime for the U.S., filling in for Matt Turner. The 2022 World Cup starter, Turner was solid and surefooted in the first half, though he gave up a goal to Sadio Mané. It was a fine performance, though, from the New England Revolution netminder. Was it enough to unseat Freese as the starter? Saturday’s friendly vs. Germany may be more telling in that regard.
Brady, meanwhile, didn’t have a kind welcome. Just seven minutes into his national team debut, he hesitated after a bad turnover from Miles Robinson. Nicolas Jackson then charged down the ball and toe-poked it past Brady and toward the net. A sliding clearance attempt wasn’t enough to keep the ball out, as Mané got the final touch and Senegal tied the game.
They are who we thought they were
One overarching takeaway from the match was the gulf in quality between the top and bottom of the U.S. roster.
It was especially evident in the second half. Balogun, Malik Tillman, Tim Weah and Weston McKennie threatened Senegal again and again and again — just as Pulisic, Dest and others had in the first half. Tillman was especially active and dangerous, in a way that Reyna hadn’t been in the first half.
But in midfield and at the back, the U.S. had nowhere near as much control in the second half, and Robinson’s error was emblematic of the chief concern about this team: its lack of depth at the back.
Giving minutes to all of those players, all across the quality spectrum, was clearly part of Pochettino’s plan for this friendly. It will be interesting to see if his approach to the send-off match vs. Germany at a sold-out Soldier Field in Chicago on Saturday, will be different.
