CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — You could see the look of relief on Christian Pulisic’s face as he eluded goaltender Molly Diaw and buried his shot in the net for a first-half goal.
“Maybe we can stop talking about it now,” Pulisic said later.
In short, it’s a drought.
Pulisic scored a goal and an assist. Ended 5 consecutive months of no points. Building trust between clubs and representatives USA beat Senegal 3-2 On Sunday, the U.S. team played its penultimate World Cup prelude before the opening game on June 12th.
The top American player ended his season with AC Milan without scoring in a career-high 19 games for the club since December 28, and has now gone eight consecutive games without a goal in the United States since November 2024.
“I felt confident, like I’ve been playing very well over the last few months, but it seems like all everyone wants to worry about is goals, so I wish we could stop talking about that,” Pulisic said. “We have a game ahead of us, so we have to be ready.”
Pulisic’s goal appeared to be a mental relief, as if a weight had been lifted off the 27-year-old’s shoulders.
“We’re all happy for him and we never doubted him for a second,” midfielder Weston McKennie said. Pulisic has been known since he was 13 years old. “People who don’t know him may not know what he’s capable of and what he’s capable of.”
Alex Freeman made a cross-footed pass to Ricardo Pepi, who was running up the right side. Pepi ran to the ball, took a touch and sent a perfectly weighted pass into the penalty area to put Pulisic ahead on the run.
Pulisic received a touch, got past Diaw, and fired his right foot into the open net from a narrow angle for his 33rd goal in 85 international appearances.
He pumped his fist downwards as he ran toward the corner flag, fist first in the air. Then he fell to his knees and repeatedly pumped his tightly closed fists with raw emotion.
Was that a relief?
“Yeah,” said Pulisic, who played only the first half. “I think you can see my reaction.”
US coach Mauricio Pochettino predicted last week that the drought would end with the World Cup.
Pochettino said: “Christian’s 45-minute performance was really good. “He still has the potential to improve, but I think it’s the way he trained from the first day. Playing 45 minutes was a habit he made last week. He trains every day with this attitude, this commitment, this energy. Now I think we need to try to extend (it) to 90 minutes.”
“I’m happy for him too, because he’s scored again for the first time in a few months. Obviously that’s important for our players as we prepare for the World Cup.”
Pulisic said he was more excited about the result of the match.
The United States filled the emotion and energy of a pro-American crowd of 57,741 in soccer-crazy Charlotte, home of this summer’s Major League Soccer All-Star Game.
Pulisic recorded his eighth goal and assist in the same game in the United States. Since 1995, only Landon Donovan has had a better record with 13.
He was the key to the first goal. Pepi received a pass from Anthony Robinson and spun between Iliman Ndiaye and Abdoulaye Sek with a sharp pass that allowed Pulisic to break alone down the left. Pulisic took two touches to send a cross just outside the box six yards, where Sergiño Dest beat Diaw for his third international goal.
Senegal captain Sadio Mane scored twice after an American mistake to tie the score at 2-2 and extend Senegal’s international goal record to 54. He took advantage of a goal from Anthony Robinson to beat goalkeeper Matt Turner in the 44th minute, and in the 52nd minute Nicholas Jackson lifted the ball and smashed it past onrushing goalkeeper Chris Brady and into the net.
Folarin Balogun scored the tying goal in the 63rd inning.
Pulisic was smiling as he played in his second World Cup.
“I’m a little more relaxed now and more confident,” he said. “It’s a really good result. They’re a strong team. They’re a really good team. So I think we can be happy, but there’s still a lot of work to do.”
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
