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Christian Pulisic has ended his goal drought, and at the perfect time for him and the United States men’s national team. Pulisic, who hasn’t scored this calendar year, finally found the back of the net during the United States’ friendly against Senegal at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Sunday. It marked Pulisic’s first goal for the U.S. since November 2024 and his first goal overall since December. Pulisic was involved in both of the United States first-half goals. Striker Ricardo Pepi got the ball on the left wing and spotted Pulisic darting forward. Pepi made the pass, and Pulisic played a low cross near the top of the six-yard box, where full-back Sergino Dest tapped it in. Moments later, Pepi picked up the ball on the right wing, and there Pulisic was again, making a driving run forward through the middle of the pitch. Pepi played a perfect pass into the path of Pulisic, who went around Senegal goalkeeper Mory Diaw to slot home the Americans’ second goal. Pepi got the start up top over Monaco striker Folarin Balogun, who was the presumptive starter in the middle of the Americans’ attack heading into the tournament. Sadio Mane cut the lead in half just before halftime, similar to the match against Belgium, the United States conceded before the break, halting momentum. Second Half Changes Pochettino made ten substitutions at the break, leaving midfielder Sebastian Berhalter as the lone American to keep his place on the pitch from the first half. Among those set to enter was Chicago Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady, ready for his USA debut—provided he could actually find his kit. Brady was left waiting on the sideline without his jersey until fellow keeper Matt Freese sprinted across the field to retrieve it from the equipment manager, allowing the 22-year-old to finally sub into the match. The full lineup after the break consisted of. Brady, Miles Robinson, Auston Trusty, Joe Scally, Weston McKennie, Sebastian Berhalter, Max Arfsten, Tim Weah, Folarin Balogun, Malik Tillman, and Cristian Roldan. Balogun Scores The Winner Despite Senegal’s striking again to level the score, the heavily rotated American side responded well. After the hour mark, former Juventus teammates Weston McKennie and Tim Weah linked up beautifully in a buildup down the right wing to find Monaco striker Folarin Balogun. It proved to be a chaotic but productive half for Balogun. After twice being involved in second-half plays where the ball ended up in the net but didn’t count, the striker finally got his reward. In the 63rd minute, Balogun buried a clinical finish to put the U.S. up 3-2, proving that the third time is indeed the charm. Alejandro Zendejas entered as the USA’s 11th and final sub, leaving Haji Wright and Brenden Aaronson as the two attackers to not receive minutes Sunday. USA was able to close out the second half and leave Charlotte with a promising win, while leaving some room for improvement.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Lamine Yamal was scared of missing the World Cup after injuring his hamstring and prayed that he could recover in time. Yamal is expected to be fit for the tournament that begins on June 11 in North America. He injured his left hamstring while converting a penalty kick with Barcelona in a Spanish league match on April 22. “I never had a hamstring injury like that but I knew that it wasn’t going to be a short recovery time,” Yamal said in an interview with the Spanish soccer federation published on Sunday. “I was afraid that it was something serious or that it could relapse and that I would miss the World Cup.” The 18-year-old Yamal went down after converting a first-half penalty kick in the game against Celta Vigo. He scored and immediately looked to the bench to signal he was hurt. He dropped to the ground as his teammates arrived to celebrate, then appeared to grab the back of his left leg. “I remember the play in which I got injured,” Yamal said. “I was praying inside for it not to be serious, for it to be a cramp or something like that, because I knew the World Cup was very close.” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said last week after including Yamal in his World Cup squad that the forward was expected to be ready to play either the first or second Spain match. La Roja will debut against Cape Verde on June 15 in Atlanta. It then faces Saudi Arabia on June 21 in Atlanta and Uruguay on June 26 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Yamal is expected to lead the Spain squad that will try to win its second world title. It won the World Cup for the first time in South Africa in 2010. “The moment has finally arrived,” Yamal said. “I think that ever since the European Championship ended, we’ve all been thinking about this day, and we are all very excited. We will enter the tournament as the European champions, and we are going to give it everything we have.” Spain officially began its World Cup preparations on Saturday in Madrid. Some 2,000 people watched the team’s first training session on Sunday. Reporting by The Associated Press.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports