CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Christian Pulisic‘s spirits were high, or as he put it, “I felt relaxed but just energized.” Ending a months-long goalscoring drought helped in the U.S. men’s national team’s 3-2 win over Senegal on Sunday was undoubtedly a contributing factor but it was far from the only reason why the vibes were high. For the first time in a long time, it felt like things were tilting nicely in the USMNT’s favor – and not a moment too soon with the World Cup less than a fortnight away.
Roughly 18 months after Mauricio Pochettino assumed the helm of the national team, a spell that started with turbulence that has not seamlessly subsided, a cohesive vision was easy to spot. The U.S. started in electric form and had a goal by the sixth minute courtesy of Sergino Dest and even as Senegal tried to work their way back into the game, they never actually relented. It was not a perfect game, as the scoreline indicates – the errors from Miles Robinson and Chris Brady, the latter earning his first cap, to set up Sadio Mane‘s second goal is awfully indicative of that – but it answered a batch of questions of who the USMNT will be at a World Cup on home soil. The short answer? Entertaining, if all goes according to plan.
The USMNT has never historically been an attack-minded juggernaut, though many of Pochettino’s predecessors were limited by the player pool. From his breakout managerial spell in England‘s Premier League with Southampton from 2013 to 2014, though, that stylistic preference has been his trademark. Pochettino’s teams are supposed to lead with intensity, especially on the wings; it has not always worked out with the U.S. team but Sunday offered a rare flicker that it just might be a winning formula at the World Cup.
“We cannot complain or say nothing. Maybe Paraguay, Uruguay and today, it was the right attitude, the right commitment for everyone,” Pochettino said, referencing November’s 2-1 win over Paraguay and the 5-1 win over Uruguay days later. “That is the attitude that we tried to find from day one. Non-official game or official game, we need to play in this way if we want to improve.”
Pulisic on his own encapsulated that very feeling, ending a 22-game goalscoring drought after a productive week to open the USMNT’s pre-World Cup camp. The attacker always had Pochettino’s vote of confidence, though, the coach always believing it would be a matter of time. Much like the team as a whole, Pulisic’s outing – which included an assist to Dest’s goal – could not be timed better.
“The performance of Christian in the 45 minutes was really, really good,” Pochettino said. “I think he has still potential, a lot to improve but I think it is in the training from day one and I felt that was what he needed and how he played 45 minutes was the habit he created in the last week, every day training with his attitude, with his commitment, with his energy.”
The good news for the team as a whole, though, was that the goalscoring burden was always going to be shared. Pulisic earned the headlines on Sunday but Ricardo Pepi was right there with him, playing an important role in the build-up to Dest’s goal and notching the assist on Pulisic’s. It is the latest example of Pepi’s rise – nearly four years ago, he was left off Gregg Berhalter’s World Cup roster and was likely one of the final cuts but he admitted Saturday that he used the exclusion as fuel. He arrives to the World Cup in the form of his life and is angling for a starting spot once the tournament begins despite once being seen as a capable understudy to Folarin Balogun.
“I thought he was really good today,” Pulisic said about a longtime teammate. “I though he was just in a lot of good areas and he was always a bit of an outlet for us and finding good plays and making the right decisions and passes and goals will come from him, for sure, because he’s in the right places. I was really happy for him today.”
Pepi scored 19 goals for Dutch champions PSV this season, a career-best tally that may earn him a move to Premier League side Fulham this summer after a deal was nearly completed in the winter. He has seamlessly integrated himself into Pochettino’s attack-minded team despite limited exposure to it, playing just one international game in 2025 while dealing with injuries.
“It was difficult because we didn’t have too much time to work with him because he suffered several different types of injuries and then when he was with us, he wasn’t his best,” Pochettino said. “I think now we are seeing a different player that we saw during the 18 months … I am so happy because I think exactly, with his capacity, today him, Balogun or Haji [Wright] – who didn’t play today – I think we have a group of offensive players or strikers that I really like.”
Pochettino has a wide range of options available to him in attack in three in-form forwards with varying skillsets, a perfect fit for a coach whose stylistic preferences suit those players. He may be the benefactor of great form with that trio but he decided to run with a tactical innovation of his own with Dest specifically. Dest has always been formally listed as a right back but his skillset is overtly attack-minded, Pochettino seeming to acutely understand the nuances of his crafty game with the role he assigned the player on Sunday. Dest was essentially free to do as he saw fit, his preferences allowing the USMNT to go off to the races – he pressed high up the pitch, the rest of the team charging in to overwhelm a rotated Senegal defense. He sometimes hovered in more central positions, which is why Pulisic picked him out of the opening goal in the first place, Dest coming up with a finish suitable for the role he played.
“We know he’s so dangerous in the attacking [positions],” Pulisic said. “He can defend but he’s so dangerous. It causes so many problems with his dribbling, his passing and today getting in the box, it’s a really big quality.”
Even after Senegal equalized early in the second half – and after Pochettino made 10 changes at the break – the USMNT did not relent. Their third goal came courtesy of Balogun and the U.S. ultimately outdid the visitors 15 to seven in shots and 2.66 to 1.74 in expected goals. It marks an exciting reinvention of the USMNT, who look like a Pochettino team two years after sliding into mediocrity under Berhalter’s watch.
One game does not change the narrative on this U.S. team, especially given their propensity for dramatic and unfavorable performances and results. They have slipped into a different mode this last week, though – the stress of making a World Cup team now behind them, the USMNT players seem much happier to focus on the task at hand, at long last.
“It felt good,” Pulisic said with a noticeably lighter tone than usual, even as he maintained a business-like approach to his answers. “It felt good in a lot of ways. I’m sure guys are really happy to have made the roster now and now they can just hopefully be themselves and just try to take it all in and enjoy this summer.”
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