With weeks left until the World Cup begins, Christian Pulisic was in peak form in a big win against Senegal. With an assist and a goal to his name, Pulisic became "Captain America" once again, filling both his squad and fanbase with heightened confidence going into the biggest tournament in sports.
The countdown in the top right of the corner of the broadcast ticked just under eleven days as the United States Men's National Team lined up across from their elite opponent, the National Team of Senegal.
In preparation for the World Cup, which is now less than two weeks away, the United States played their first of two friendlies with its 26-man World Cup roster.
Up against Senegal, the USMNT experimented with their starting eleven and halftime substitutions, trying to get everyone into top form without risking injury or exhaustion. Where the plan had been for just an opportunity to learn and get ready for the tournament, an impressive 3-2 victory gave the USMNT something even bigger: Hope.
Christian Pulisic is so back
The catalyst for the spike in hope and expectations for the USMNT was the team's star and center piece, Christian Pulisic. In the first ten minutes, Pulisic grabbed a great run down the left side, just outside of the opposing box, sending a beautiful pass into the middle of the box and a running Ricardo Pepi, who sent the ball into the back of the net with ease.
Pulisic got to the corner flag before Pepi, screaming in celebration and looking like a man who had just gotten a ten-thousand-pound gorilla off his back.
But that was not the end of Pulisic's day, as in the nineteenth minute, he and Ricardo Pepi went screaming down the field. Pepi carried the ball down the right side of the field, making a perfect diagonal pass into the box, where Pulisic was waiting. With a side step, Pulisic made the Senegal goalie, Mory Diaw, touch turf and made a shot from a difficult angle to put the US up 2-0.
If the first celebration was the process of getting a ten-thousand-pound gorilla off of his shoulders, the second celebration was an act of exorcism.
Pulisic, finally free of the tortured soul of the ten-thousand-pound gorilla, let loose as he raced to the corner of the pitch, punching the air with ferocity, and falling to his knees with a shout from somewhere deep inside him. His countrymen rushed to his side, embracing him and celebrating the achievement.
Pulisic entered the friendly on a five month scoring drought, last scoring for AC Milan on December 28, 2025 against Hellas Verona. His last goal when sporting the stars and stripes came in November of 2024, in a match against Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League. Even assists have been a rare occasion for the winger, with only four assists in this most recent club campaign.
Quite a bit of the discourse surrounding the USMNT's World Cup campaign was around Pulisic and whether or not he could return to form in time for the tournament. In the March friendlies, Pulisic had looked completely out of sorts, with six shots, none of which were on target. With a 6.3 rating against Belgium and a 5.6 rating against Portugal, there were, deservedly, many questions regarding whether or not Pulisic could contribute meaningfully for his country on the world stage.
Pulisic clearly saw these questions and decided to answer them himself before the tournament even began. With an 8.4 rating (second only to Sadio Mane, who has both of Senegal's goals), Pulisic put on a forty-five-minute clinic. Two shots, one of which was on target and found the back of the net, two chances created, both goals, eight touches inside the opposing box (a third of his touches were in the opposing box) and 85% passing, Pulisic was on a tear.
If there are any remaining sceptics out there, you are not entirely wrong for having some concerns. One game is not necessarily indicative of a true return to form. However, the team that he did this to is an absolute powerhouse and deserves the respect they have earned as a potential World Cup dark horse. Senegal is either the best team in Africa or the second-best team, and if you watched the broadcast, you heard the commentators riff on this fact for hours.
Since the start of 2025, Senegal has played thirty international games and only conceded more than one goal four times (five including today). In that same stretch, they have won nineteen games (twenty if you included the Africa Cup of Nations final, court ruling still pending). During qualifying, they gave up only .4 goals per match, with eight clean sheets to go with that. While they may not have had their starting goalkeeper in the box, Mory Diaw is still a starting goalkeeper in French Ligue 1 for Le Havre, he is quality.
Any offense against the fourteenth-ranked country in the world would be worth celebrating, but creating two goals, one with an assist and one himself, is an absolutely glorious result for Christian Pulisic and is a significant indicator that the winger might not just be back, but better than ever.
Add us as a preferred source on Google