Christian Pulišić is back in the centre of the USMNT picture after a goal and assist in the opening 20 minutes against Senegal. He slipped Sergiño Dest through for the opener after six minutes, then scored 13 minutes later. The burst ended a scoring drought that had been hanging over him for months.

Why Pulisic's sharp start mattered

The numbers back up how involved he was. Pulisic finished with eight touches in the opponent’s penalty area in his 45 minutes, which is a lot of threat to pack into one half. He also had 29 Serie A appearances in 2025, scored 7 league goals and carried a 6.92 average rating, so this was not a case of a player needing a rescue act. It looked more like a return to the level the US can build around.

Pulisic put it plainly after the game. "It's just great to score again. Hopefully people can stop talking about it," he told si.com.

There is still a small wrinkle in how the drought is framed. Some reporting has treated it as a 19-game Serie A wait, while other coverage has described a 20-game wait for a goal and noted that his last USMNT goal came in November 2024. Either way, the point is the same: the dry spell was real, and it ended in a sharp 20-minute spell against Senegal.

Pochettino's rotation is still unfinished

Mauricio Pochettino did not just stumble into a more dangerous USMNT. He returned to a three-back formation, described as a 3-5-2, and made 10 changes at halftime. He also used a laptop during a three-minute hydration break, with analyst Alec Scott holding it, which says plenty about how much he is still trying to show and teach in real time.

Pochettino was upbeat about the players who can handle that load. "He can play two games in a row. He's a monster," he said of Sebastian Berhalter, who logged 76 minutes, the most of any U.S. player. That kind of rotation-heavy night does not suggest a settled World Cup XI, and it would be a stretch to say the team has nailed anything down yet. But it did show a side that looked more flexible and harder to pin down than it has for much of the spring.

The attacking balance mattered too. Folarin Balogun scored the winner in the 63rd minute after two earlier goals were ruled offside, while Ricardo Pepi also added to the competition up front. That is the sort of selection problem Pochettino probably wants. The next test is whether Pulisic can carry this level into the next camp and whether the shape stays as fluid when the opponent is not giving him quite as much room.

FAQ

Why does Christian Pulisic look back to his best for the USMNT?

Christian Pulisic scored and assisted inside the opening 20 minutes against Senegal, then finished with eight touches in the opponent’s penalty area in his 45 minutes. He had gone 19 games without a Serie A goal and his last USMNT goal had come in November 2024, so this was the cleanest sign his form has turned.

Is Mauricio Pochettino still experimenting with the USMNT?

Yes. Mauricio Pochettino returned to a three-back setup described as a 3-5-2 and made 10 changes at halftime. He also used a laptop during a three-minute hydration break with analyst Alec Scott holding it, which shows the team is still in a testing phase rather than a finished version.

What did Christian Pulisic do against Senegal?

He set up Sergiño Dest for the opener six minutes in, scored himself 13 minutes later, and had two goal contributions in the match. He also finished with eight touches in the opponent’s penalty area in 45 minutes.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →