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Christian Pulisic ended his lengthy goal drought in the U.S. Men's National Team's win against Senegal -Credit
mar Vega/USSF/Getty ImagesU.S. Men's National Team star Christian Pulisic has urged his teammates to tighten up defensively after letting a potentially commanding win in their first FIFA World Cup warm-up slip through their grasp against Senegal.
The U.S. stormed to a two-goal lead in the friendly against Senegal, courtesy of strikes from Sergino Dest and Pulisic - the latter's first goal domestically or internationally this calendar year. Nevertheless, former Liverpool forward Sadio Mane reduced the deficit just before the break, before drawing level 10 minutes after the restart.
A decisive strike from Florian Balogun restored the United States' lead and saved Mauricio Pochettino and his staff from extending their winless run. Next up, the U.S. will face Germany in a friendly on June 6 before launching its World Cup campaign against Paraguay on June 12 at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium.
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Sadio Mané scored twice for Senegal to level the game before Folarin Balogun netted the winner for the USMNT -Credit:Robin Alam/ISI Photos via Getty Images
Looking ahead to this summer's tournament, Pulisic has pinpointed an area that requires swift attention, as per The Mirror US.
Pulisic expressed frustration with the team surrendering a two-goal advantage against Senegal, which was named the AFCON champion earlier this year after defeating Morocco, though the result was later overturned in the latter's favor.
"I think there are certain areas where we can just clean a couple things up. Obviously, the goals we conceded, but we have to defend all together as a team to try and do a little bit better. But all in all, I think it's a really good start," he told TNT Sports.
Pulisic's strike marked his first for his country since 2024. The AC Milan winger previously found the net for the USMNT in the 4-2 victory against Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals. "I mean, it's just great to score again," he said.
"Hopefully, people can stop talking about it, and I feel great, and I'm really proud of the performance the guys put in today, and just to be a part of it, I was just, felt really good, especially in front of this crowd, I thought it was incredible."
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Pulisic believes the victory over Senegal will improve confidence levels going into the Germany friendly and the competition itself. "Yeah, it helps, for sure," he said.
"I mean, this is a really good team as well. I thought we were, we just brought so much energy right from the start, and the way we pressed them, the way we, yeah, created chances, you know, we could've had even more, and I'm really happy with the performance."
The USMNT finds itself grouped with Paraguay, Australia, and Turkey. Poch's squad will be confident about advancing from the group stage and progressing to the knockout rounds on American territory.
That said, irrespective of how the USMNT performs in the competition, Pochettino might be heading back to club soccer.
Pochettino has been connected with the open AC Milan position, which would not only allow him to continue working with Pulisic but also take charge of one of Italian football's most prestigious institutions.
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