The United States secured victory over Senegal in their penultimate warm-up game ahead of this summer’s World Cup on home soil.
Mauricio Pochettino’s team, who kick off their World Cup campaign against Paraguay on June 12, secured a 3-2 win in Charlotte on Sunday.
The victory was inspired by Christian Pulisic, who had gone more than five months without a goal – for club or country.
But against Senegal, Pulisic scored one and created one – for Sergino Dest – as the USA raced into a 2-0 lead.
The visitors battled back to level the game – thanks to two goals from Sadio Mane -before Folarin Balogun netted the winner for Pochettino’s team.
The US will head to Chicago next weekend to face Germany in their final game before the World Cup.
Christian Pulisic inspired the United States to victory over Senegal in a friendly on Sunday
Sergino Dest opened the scoring as Mauricio Pochettino’s team secured a 3-2 win in Charlotte
Folarin Balogun scored the winner in their penultimate warm-up game ahead of the World Cup
Pochettino’s team will face Germany next week, in their final game before the World Cup
Pulisic had played 1,133 minutes in 2026 without finding the net and after the game he told Fox: ‘It feels great to score again, hopefully people can stop talking about it.
‘I feel great and I’m very proud of the performance the guys put in today… especially in front of this crowd. It’s incredible.’
He added: ‘This is a really good team as well. I thought we brought so much energy right from the start, the way we pressed them and created chances… I’m really happy with the performance.’
It could have been even better for Pochettino’s team but for a couple of errors that gifted Senegal a route back into the game.
First, full back Antonee Robinson coughed up possession, allowing the visitors to counter attack. Mane made the most of that opportunity and then profited once more from a second-half error by Miles Robinson.
Twice the United States thought they had retaken the lead, only to be denied by the officials, before Balogun scored the winner.
