The United States national football team faced Senegal in a pre-World Cup 2026 friendly match as part of their tournament preparations.
The United States overcame a fierce challenge from Senegal in a thrilling five-goal contest during their World Cup 2026 warm-up clash.
The friendly match took place over the weekend, on Sunday (31 May 2026) or early Monday morning local time.
This time, two World Cup participants—the United States and Senegal—tested their strength against each other.
The encounter was held at the Bank of America Stadium.
As both sides sought to test their tactical setups, the home side, the United States, had to work hard to overcome Senegal.
Under the guidance of Mauricio Pochettino, the American team endured a dramatic five-goal battle.
Fortunately for the Stars and Stripes, they managed to subdue the Lions of Teranga with a 3-2 victory.
Both teams deployed a 3-4-3 formation, but the United States controlled most of the possession.
Just six minutes into the match, Sergiño Dest broke the deadlock for the hosts.
Dest gave the United States a 1-0 lead over Senegal after finishing off a low cross from Christian Pulisic.
Unmarked, the former Barcelona full-back struck Pulisic’s delivery past Mory Diaw from close range.
Continuing to press, the United States pinned Senegal deep in their own half.
The 2026 World Cup hosts then doubled their lead to 2-0, thanks to a goal from Pulisic.
After assisting Dest’s opener, the AC Milan winger got his name on the scoresheet by converting a through ball from Ricardo Pepi.
Evading the offside trap, Pulisic rounded Diaw before slotting the ball home in the 20th minute.
Senegal struggled to cope with the high pressing from Pochettino’s men as the match approached the half-hour mark.
The Lions of Teranga created two golden opportunities to reduce the deficit—first through Iliman Ndiaye’s shot in the 34th minute, followed by a close-range effort from Sadio Mané in the 36th minute.
Persistent attacks finally paid off for Senegal two minutes before half-time.
The captain, Mané, pulled one back to make it 1-2 after finishing a through pass from Habib Diarra, who had made a solo run beforehand.
Mané’s right-footed strike was beyond the reach of Matt Turner, nestling into the bottom right corner of the American goal.
The first half ended with the United States leading 2-1 over Senegal.
In the second half, Senegal attempted to seize control as the United States made 10 substitutions during the break.
Pochettino brought on players including Folarin Balogun, Weston McKennie, Jose Scally, Malik Tillman, Chris Brady, and Timothy Weah.
The hosts nearly scored again in the 49th minute through Balogun, but the goal was overturned due to a foul by Tillman in the buildup.
Three minutes later, the United States conceded after a defensive mistake allowed Nicolas Jackson to pounce.
Jackson outsmarted Brady with a deft touch before Mané tapped the ball into the net, levelling the score at 2-2 for Senegal.
The United States regained the lead in the 63rd minute when Balogun converted a cut-back pass from Weah, making it 3-2.
Both teams continued to attack relentlessly in the final 10 minutes of the match.
By full-time, the 2026 World Cup hosts held on to secure a 3-2 victory over Senegal.
United States 3-2 Senegal (Sergiño Dest 6', Christian Pulisic 20', Folarin Balogun 63'; Sadio Mané 43', 52')
Starting line-ups for the United States and Senegal in the friendly match:
United States (3-4-3): 1-Matt Turner; 16-Alex Freeman, 22-Mark McKenzie, 13-Tim Ream; 2-Sergiño Dest, 14-Sebastian Berhalter, 4-Tyler Adams, 5-Antonee Robinson; 7-Giovanni Reyna, 9-Ricardo Pepi, 10-Christian Pulisic
Coach: Mauricio Pochettino
Senegal (3-4-3): 23-Mory Diaw; 15-Krépin Diatta, 4-Abdoulaye Seck, 2-Mamadou Sarr; 13-Iliman Ndiaye, 8-Lamine Camara, 27-Bara Ndiaye, 14-Ismail Jakobs; 21-Habib Diarra, 11-Nicolas Jackson, 10-Sadio Mané
Coach: Pape Thiaw
