USMNT Win Entertaining Pre-World Cup Friendly vs Senegal | OneFootball

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The United States won 3-2 against Senegal in the first of two pre-World Cup friendly matches. These games act as a tournament preview of sorts, and though Charlotte, where this game took place, is not a host city, seeing these games on North American soil, with the colorful surround, brings some anticipation that the World Cup is just around the corner.

The game itself, an entertaining back and forth with some errors but also some flashes of decent attacking play, was a good trailer, too. If it was a taste of things to come at the tournament proper, it could well be an entertaining one.

Mauricio Pochettino’s United States needed this to be something a bit more than a friendly tune-up game, though. Having qualified for the World Cup automatically as hosts, the US had not experienced the competitive build-up you get from a full qualifying campaign.

The fact that it was played in Charlotte, North Carolina, in front of home fans helped add a competitive element. A desire to win and to impress. A US team doesn’t need to win these games, but, regardless, there is pressure to do so.

The hosts’ will to win was evident early on as they made a blistering start to the game, scoring through Sergino Dest after just seven minutes.

The goal was a very encouraging one, involving some excellent hold-up play from Ricardo Pepi and a welcome contribution from Christian Pulisic.

Pulisic’s place in the starting XI is guaranteed, but up front Pepi will be expected to make way for Folarin Balogun once the tournament starts. If there was a case to be made by Pepi to start ahead of Balogun, he made it as best he could, also setting up the second goal for Pulisic. The center-forward’s frame and touch helped him protect the ball and hold it up effectively, and then his vision and awareness helped him pick out some effective passes to set up those goals.

Dest's appearance in the box for the opener is a result of the system Pochettino uses, where the player who might normally be considered an attacking right back or wing-back is a genuine winger in possession.

The use of a defensive right-back, in this case Alex Freeman, as part of the back three, aids this dynamic down the right and offers something slightly different than an orthodox center-back would in that position.

Pochettino picked a whole host of center-backs in his 26-man roster, but the best of them all, Chris Richards, was missing today, and it showed. Mark McKenzie and Tim Ream both showed weaknesses at times in the first half, while Miles Robinson was at fault for the second Senegal goal.

There is an overall lack of composure in front of the goalkeeper, which means the US is susceptible to an opposition press if they recycle the ball to the back line.

The system is encouraging, some of the individual performances less so, as both goals came from mistakes rather than any particularly good attacking play from Senegal.

The USMNT’s 22-year-old third-choice goalkeeper, Chris Brady, could certainly have done without Robinson putting him in such a situation, but as expected starter Matt Freese also learned quickly, you’re not always going to get security in front of you as the United States’ goalkeeper.

In case any viewers were starting to settle into the narrative of this game, that was spoiled at halftime. The number of changes made at the break served as a reminder that this was a friendly after all, as Pochettino made ten of them.

It then becomes a fitness exercise with some tactical tests thrown in, but alongside this was a clinical display of finishing from Balogun, who might have noted Pepi’s first-half performance and realised he needed to show his own ability. Only one of Balogun’s goals actually counted, but there was a coolness in front of goal that will be much needed in the American heat this summer.

Both teams leave this game with defensive worries, but the US attack was very encouraging. If they cut out the defensive errors, which is a big if, but if they can, they might be able to provide this World Cup with some decent progress by a host nation.

A successful World Cup for the USMNT would be to win a couple of knockout games and then hold their own once it comes up against a better (higher-ranked) team. You can’t do that with defensive errors, and Pochettino will have to hope that a returning Richards and a more consistent lineup in the group stage bring more stability.

For now, Charlotte got to enjoy an entertaining game, one that eases the country into the massive soccer event that is about to land on its shores, and now just one more friendly, against Germany on Saturday, remains before the real thing kicks off.