It’s here – meaningless matches before the World Cup. But this is no normal meaningless friendly, it’s the most meaningful meaningless friendly the team has played in four years. In that time the team has had three coaches, a scandal, and played some soccer even. That soccer has come into focus more in the most recent months with some promising results to end 2025 and some concerning ones as the World Cup approached. It’s all come to this, the most closely watched friendly of the World Cup cycle
so far as the team takes on Senegal.
The USMNT will bring a roster with some questions that need to be answered and answered quickly. Who is the no. 1 goal keeper? Who is/are the best option/s to start at center back next to Chris Richards? It turns out that the back up to the back up of Tyler Adams might be the most important player on the roster – who exactly is that though? How will the team score goals?
When the starting XI takes the field some of that might be seen more clearly, but there will be more that needs to be learned from this match. The team looked its best playing in a 3-4-2-1ish thing before the end of last year and the 26 players selected seem to lend themselves to that kind of set up. There are 13 defenders on the roster and 6 or 7 can reliably play center back. Going with that set up seems to play into the teams strengths but wasn’t seen in the games against Portugal and Belgium, so predicting what the lineup will be is a task that is beyond the scope of this preview.
That said, it will be interesting to see how the midfield is set up. Adams is nearly sure to start with Weston McKennie also vital to the midfield and can play and be anywhere at any time. Where others lineup is yet to be seen, with options at no. 10 – at times no. 10s – ranging from McKennie to Gio Reyna, Christian Pulisic or Malik Tillman. Pulisic is most effective out wide and may be set opposite Tim Weah who manager Mauricio Pochettino has leaned towards over other options like Brenden Aaronson. It seems likely that Folarin Balogun has claimed the starting striker spot, though he may also be at his manager’s whims as well.
Tactically, Poch likes the team to try to work possession to create chances or press and run back to defend without the ball. He likes players who can be comfortable interchanging positions while wanting the fullbacks to get forward and be involved in the attack. When it has worked it has worked very well. The unbeaten run the team had from September and November into the first half of the Belgium game showcased the team at its best. For that matter so did the first 23 minutes of the Portugal match. If the team can recapture that and build on it, Senegal might be in for a tight match.
As for Les Lions de la Teranga, the team comes into the World Cup having lost the Africa Cup of Nations final to Morocco and then promptly beating Peru and Gambia in convincing fashion. They are a tough opponent for any team in this World Cup and will be a solid test for the USA. Sadio Mane and Kalidou Koulibaly – enough said.
Not really, I do love my words, Koulibaly is world class not only as a defender but also as a playmaker from the backline while Idrissa Gueye controls the pitch from midfield and breaking up his tempo will be key to the USA having a successful night. Gueye is particularly important as Senegal looks to breakup play in midfield and counter in the resulting chaos as their opponents try to cover ground in transition. They are fast and have the wingers and fullbacks who can give defenders plenty to be concerned about before working the ball towards the likes of Bayern Munich’s Nicolas Jackson for scoring chances.
The anticipation has been building for years now. While this and the following game against Germany are just friendlies, they will be invaluable as Mauricio Pochettino makes his final decisions ahead of the start of the World Cup. Senegal is an ideal opponent for the team to play as it gears up for what will be the most important games in the history of the USMNT once the tournament officially starts in a few short weeks.
