United States Men Defeat Strong Senegal Squad 3-2 in Penultimate Friendly Before World Cup
Christian Pulisic scored his first international goal since 2024 and added an assist to lead the Stars and Stripes to victory at Bank of America Stadium.
The Senegalese men’s national football team are known as the Lions of Teranga. “Teranga” — considered to be the core cultural value of Senegal — is a term that comes from the Wolof language, and roughly translates to “hospitality.”
However, despite large crowds for the Lions, there was no hospitality to be found at Bank of America Stadium from the United States Men’s National Team.
Christian Pulisic contributed an assist and a goal in the first 20 minutes of action, ending his national team goal drought as he powered the Stars and Stripes to an impressive 3-2 win, defeating a 14th-ranked Senegalese squad that had won 8 of their last 10 matches, and ending a two-match losing streak in the process.
In the first ever meeting between the two teams, and in the USMNT’s second game ever at Bank of American Stadium, the United States dominated proceedings for the for the first third of the game, routinely pressing a discombobulated Senegalese side into giveaways deep in their territory, and capitalizing with an opportunistic offensive attack.
“I think we played really well,” United States winger Alejandro Zendejas told Soccer Sheet in a post-match interview. “The team was intense, we played out the back as we should, and I think we created good opportunities that ended up [as goals].”
Pulisic set up Sergiño Dest for the first goal of the game 7 minutes in before opening his own 2026 international account in the 20th minute, scoring his first international goal since November 2024 and ending a 5-month scoring drought overall across club and country play.
In an interview with Soccer Sheet, Pulisic refused to consider the drought a “curse.”
“It’s just a friendly,” said Pulisic. “I’m really happy, [scoring] felt great, but we’ve got some big games ahead.
The U.S. went through their first period of patchy play towards the end of the first half and paid the price, as a sloppy giveaway near midfield from defender Antonee Robinson quickly resulted in a Senegal counter that resulted in a close-range goal for captain Sadio Mané that brought the numerous Senegalese fans to their feet shortly before the teams went to the locker rooms for the halftime break.
U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino opted for massive subs at halftime, replacing everyone in the lineup except for midfielder Sebastian Berhalter, who he referred to as a ‘beast’ in the post-match presser. The move appeared to be effective as the U.S. offense continued to heap pressure on their opponents’ defense, with two apparent goals that were nullified in the first quarter hour of the second half, one for offsides and one for a questionable foul call in the box.
In between, disaster struck as a Miles Robinson intended pass back to goalie Chris Brady was deflected before being tipped into the back of the net by Mane from point-blank range in the 53rd minute. Not to be deterred, the U.S. kept their foot on the gas pedal, as forward Folarin Balogun scored from close-range in the 63rd minute to account for the final score.
Playing in his club team’s home stadium, Charlotte FC defender Tim Ream looked comfortable in his 28th match as U.S. captain, masterfully distributing the ball and providing his usual stalwart defensive effort in the back.
Earlier in the week, Ream spoke with Soccer Sheet about what the leadership role meant after he was announced as team captain for the World Cup.
“Obviously it’s an honor,” said Ream. “It’s not something that I ever thought of, or dreamed of, or even envisioned. It’s an honor, it’s a privilege, it’s something that, as I said earlier, don’t take for granted and don’t take lightly. I’m really proud to be sitting here and be given that honor by the coaches.”
When asked by Soccer Sheet what the difference in the match was, Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw pointed to the talent on the U.S. squad, as well as their ability to win 50-50 balls:
“They’re a good team who put us in tough situations,” said Thiaw. “We did not win a lot of 50-50 balls, and also, we are a team who like to have the ball, and in certain moments, we didn’t have it a lot, we didn’t have our feet on the ball. I think their game plan was good. They created problems for us. There were times when we solved them, when we came back to tie the game and things were going better, but we conceded another goal, it wasn’t easy. But like I said, it’s one match. They were good, they won the match, so congratulations to them. As for us, we are going to continue our preparations.”
The U.S. will play one more friendly — this Saturday, June 6th against 10th-ranked Germany at Soldier Field in Chicago — before starting World Cup group play June 12th against Paraguay.
Ream told Soccer Sheet he’s looking forward to the World Cup starting.
“The group’s been working hard. We’ve had four really good training sessions [as of May 30], said Ream. “Intensity’s been high, focus has been really good. The guys are hungry and the guys are ready to go.”
Sam Spencer and Yara Al Bayyari contributed to this story.
Photo Gallery: U.S. and Senegal Fans Bring Color to the Bank
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