The US men's national team looked fairly good in their World Cup tune-up against Senegal in Charlotte. There were a lot of questions coming into the match and now, well there are still questions, just a bit more clarity.
I think what started as an unusually harsh week for Mauricio Pochettino ended with people remembering he's a real football coach, and not just a man throwing dry spaghetti at the wall. Certainly fallible, but he fielded a solid team against Senegal and got the win.
Here is what the Senegal match cleared up, and what's still outstanding.
Striker: Pepi got the nod, and Balogun stole the show
Ricardo Pepi started as the lone striker against Senegal, with Christian Pulisic to his left and Gio Reyna to his right. It didn't take long for him to make an impact as he influenced what ended up being the first goal by Dest, by pulling defenders, and assisting the second goal for Pulisic. Pepi is going to get some minutes in the World Cup
Folarin Balogun came in at halftime and looked superb. He had two goals disallowed and at least three big chances. He eventually ended up with one goal, but the Senegalese defense had to respect him at all times. He looks massively improved over his time with the USMNT, and clearly the World Cup hits at his best form.
Haji Wright will likely see his chance against Germany.
THIS ONE COUNTS FOR FLO ✅ Folarin Balogun makes it 3-2 for the USMNT!
— Soccerwise (@soccerwisehq.bsky.social) May 31, 2026 at 4:09 PM
[image or embed]
Defensive shape: back three or four
According to Fotmob, the USA ran a 4-3-3 on paper. However it was much more a back five, with Robinson and Dest as the wingbacks. I'm still not convinced that Tim Ream should be the center back in transition, but with Chris Richards nursing an injury it may be the only option.
The No. 6: who anchors
Poch picked Berhalter and Tyler Adams as his starting midfielders and both had solid days. Seeing that there is only one variation of Adams on the team, Poch pulled him at halftime. But according to Fotmob he had 30/32 accurate passes, 34 touches and one defensive contribution.
Berhalter had 19/23 accurate passes and five defensive contributions. He played 76 minutes.
Malik Tillman, Weston McKennie and Cristian Roldan all had minutes at midfield as well, with Tillman looking sharp, especially in connection with Balogun.
In goal: Turner started, Brady played, Freese next
Matt Turner started at goalkeeper, giving up the Sadio Mane goal towards the end of the first half. He was replaced by Chris Brady, who allowed two goals. We will probably see Freese start the next friendly against Germany, with Turner in relief, although Poch may just give Freese the whole game. But his ability to break off and send the ball through the middle is going to be the US men's best chances at easy goals.
If Pulisic does that all summer no one will care if he's scoring goals or not.
— Dang Journal (@dangjournal.com) May 31, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Defending in transition: how the lead slipped
Both goals from Sadio Mane were given in quick transition, almost as if the entire US defense was taken off guard. This is one of the scary issues of sending the two wingbacks forward, but it felt more like a consequence of rust and effort.
RELATED: World Cup 2026 Squads: Here's Every Confirmed Roster
RELATED; How to Watch Every 2026 World Cup Game in the US: The Full Schedule on FOX, Telemundo
Follow Dang Journal on Bluesky for more.