How far can Pochettino’s side go?

By Josh Ortega

Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino and the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) start their final set of international friendlies on the right foot with a 3-2 win over Senegal at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, Sunday afternoon. 

Pochettino’s side picked up their first win since mid-November, kicking off the last set of action before the United States’ 2026 World Cup Opener vs Paraguay in just a week. This win is now the second U.S. win over a top 15 opponent under Pochettino’s leadership along the touch line. Pochettino spoke about the many positives this win over Senegal brings to the United States as part of the team’s preparations for the World Cup. 

“I think it was positive after 90 minutes to finish in good form with nearly the whole roster playing,” Pochettino said after the win. “I think there are a lot of positive things, things that are going to improve. At the same time, we are happy to finish the first week of training and competing with a team as good as Senegal. It is better to win even though this is not an official game. It doesn’t count for points, but it’s important to get good feelings. 

The U.S. took the lead early within the first 10 minutes of the first half thanks to full-back Sergiño Dest. Dest scored the U.S.’s opening goal after sneaking to the back post and taping a low driven cross from forward Christian Pulisic to put the U.S. in front. Dest, who returned from a hamstring injury in early May, slotted in his first goal for the stars and stripes since a 2-1 World Cup Qualifying victory over Costa Rica in 2021. However, he wasn’t the only U.S. player to end a goal drought on the day. 

Just 13 minutes later, Pulisic, who hadn’t scored for club or country since the end of 2025, blasted in a shot after he was played in by former FC Dallas and Texas native Ricardo Pepi to double the United States’ lead. Pulisic’s last goal for the U.S. came all the way back in 2024 while continuing to shine even in limited minutes against Senegal. He officially ended the longest goalless streak of his career, while securing his eighth match with a goal and an assist, tying Clint Dempsey’s for the second most all-time. Nevertheless, the Les Lions de la Teranga and AFCON runners-up did not go away. 

Senegal capitalized just before halftime via Al-Nassr forward Sadio Mané, who rifled in a shot past Matt Turner after midfielder Mouhamadou Diarra drove at the U.S. defense, finding Senegal’s top goal scorer in a pocket of space in which he capitalized in the 44th minute  of play. The U.S. went into halftime still up 2-1, but after starting slow, Senegal continued to grow into the game. 

After the break, Pochettino deemed he had seen enough from the initial lineup, making 10 changes at the break that left the U.S. disjointed to start the second half. U.S. defender Miles Robinson (pictured) was picked off by Senegal forward Nicolas Jackson trying to play the ball back to the U.S. goalkeeper Chris Brady. Jackson lofted the ball over Brady, who was caught in no man’s land, which Mané put into the back of the net for his second goal of the day to tie the game. However, the U.S. found its footing not long after. Less than 10 minutes after Senegal found an equalizer, the U.S. regained the lead thanks to forward Folarin Balogun. Balogun tapped in a cross from his fellow Ligue 1 league mate Timothy Weah to slot in what would be the game-winning goal for the United States in the 63rd minute of play. Pochettino’s side would hold on for the final 30 minutes of play to secure a victory on U.S. soil. 

The start to this final set of friendlies is a stark contrast for Pochettino and his side to the last set at the end of March in which the U.S. fell in both games against Belgium and Portugal, respectively. The biggest change is, of course, that this set of players will be the same set representing the nation at the World Cup. 

Pochettino officially named his 26-man roster last week at an event in New York on Tuesday. However, the roster leaked early the weekend prior, with multiple notable names being left off the 26-man list to represent the country on home soil. 

There was a plethora of notable names left off the roster, including former FC Dallas midfielder Tanner Tessman who, despite nursing a “muscle strain” toward the end of the season with Lyong, was left off after some expectation that he could be ready to go by the deadline. Along with Tessman, Real Salt Lake forward Diego Luna was another notable name left off the roster. Despite his stellar emergence in the squad from the 2025 Gold Cup, a knee injury left him out of the March camp. 

This roster will have one last friendly before the opening week of the tournament. The U.S. will take on Germany on Saturday at Soldier Field in Chicago. The USMNT is 4-8 against Germany, who at the time of writing, sit 10th in the FIFA World Rankings. If the stars and stripes are able to end this opening act of games before the World Cup with yet another win, the lights will really shine on how far Pochettino’s side can go at the Coupe du Monde.