EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsCHARLOTTE, N.C. -- As dress rehearsals go, the performance from the U.S. men's national team against Senegal was a bit all over the place.The U.S. jumped out in front 2-0 on goals by Sergio Dest and Christian Pulisic, only for Sadio Man -- with the help of some suspect U.S. defending -- to even the match with a pair of goals. It was left to substitute Folarin Balogun to put the U.S. back in front, converting Timothy Weah's cross in the 63rd minute for the eventual winner in a 3-2 victory.Does the result matter? Not really, but if you're U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino, you'd rather learn lessons while winning than losing. And after a March window that witnessed a pair of sobering defeats, the bump in momentum will be welcomed."It's important to get good feelings and we are still a little bit short in our preparation, but I think we are going in a good direction," said Pochettino post-mach.There's also the desire to remain healthy. That hasn't been easy for this team, and the aim is for everyone to be ready on June 12, not necessarily May 31. At first glance, it looks as if the U.S. got out of the match without any major ailments.Overall, Pochettino will want to see the team showing some good habits. In attack, there were plenty. On defense, some shaky moments.Here are some questions that were answered, with a few others that remain.Is Pulisic returning to form?You bet. Pulisic's goal drought has taken up the bulk of the oxygen around the U.S. for the past few months. The numbers didn't lie. He hadn't scored for club or country since Dec. 28 -- a span of 21 games. Pulisic didn't sound too bothered by the streak during media availability this week and was confident it would end soon.So it proved.Pulisic helped the U.S. get off to a dream start in the seventh minute when he was released down the left wing by Ricardo Pepi, and his centering feed was hammered home by Dest. Then it was left to Pulisic to double the U.S. lead in the 20th minute when put through on goal again by Pepi, touched the ball around keeper Mory Diaw and scored from a tight angle.He let out an emotional roar in celebration, falling to his knees and perhaps betraying just how much the scoreless drought had been weighing on him."I felt great. I was excited," he said after the match. "It felt good to just kind of get that one and yeah, just ready for a big summer ahead now."So what was the difference? Much of what ailed Pulisic with AC Milan was that he was often isolated in the attacking third and didn't show much chemistry at all with Rafael Le�o. On this day, it certainly helped to play with a forward in Pepi who was looking to link up with him.Playing Pulisic in the pocket on the left side also worked a treat, and his chemistry with left back Antonee Robinson was obvious.Granted, the performance isn't a guarantee of anything come FIFA World Cup time, but it was a massive step in the right direction for Pulisic.How did the backline do?The U.S. defense has caused considerable worry in the run-up to the World Cup, especially after some shaky performances during the March window. That also led to questions about whether Pochettino would go with a five- or four-man backline.On this day, Pochettino opted for a four-man alignment with Dest as a pure winger (more on that later). For the most part it worked, at least in the first half. The center back pairing of Mark McKenzie and Tim Ream held up OK except for one key area, and that is defending in transition.To be clear, the chances that Senegal created were due to errors further upfield through a combination of bad positioning when in possession and giving the ball away in bad spots. On Man's first-half tally, it was Robinson who lost possession and Senegal was off to the races. In those situations, the lack of speed in the back was apparent.But McKenzie and Ream looked more composed than the second-half pairing of Auston Trusty and Miles Robinson. (McKenzie in fact was pretty solid overall.) It was Robinson's sloppy giveaway in the 52nd minute that led to Man's second of the match. It's the kind of mistake that simply can't happen at this level."Of course, they have quality and very good players, but I think the chances that we concede were all being with the capacity to read better some action on the game," said Pochettino. "I think we can avoid the possibility to concede, and we are going to be focused next week working in all the type of thing to try to improve."One concerning stat: According to ESPN Global Research, the U.S. has conceded at least one goal in each of its past seven games in all competitions (13 goals against in that span), the team's longest such run since 2015, under Jrgen Klinsmann (also seven).Chris Richards, who sat out the game as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury, can't heal up fast enough.Did Dest cement a spot on the wing?It sure looks that way.The U.S. alignment allowed Dest to operate as an out-and-out winger, and though he plays almost exclusively as an outside back, he looked complete at home in attack. The knock on Dest has long been that he's not good enough defensively to play in the backline at the international level. Playing as a winger, with Alex Freeman behind him, accentuates Dest's strengths while camouflaging his weaknesses.That's precisely what happened on this day. Given license to go forward, his aggressive run into the box allowed him to latch on to Pulisic's cross and fire home. Dest got into dangerous positions on other occasions as well.A lack of chance creation and the ability to pull off the unexpected has long been a U.S. problem. Pushing Dest forward could go some way toward addressing that issue.Who should be Adams midfield partner?When Tanner Tessmann was left off the U.S. roster, it left open the question of who would partner Tyler Adams in the center of midfield. That concern centered on whether there was enough defensive steel to protect the U.S. backline.On Sunday, Pochettino opted to start Sebastian Berhalter alongside Adams. Though the former had some clever touches, he did little to dispel concerns about his defense.At times Berhalter just got muscled off the ball. There was a lack of awareness in possession as well, including one turnover in the 36th minute in his own third that required a sharp save by Matt Turner on an Iliman Ndiaye shot.Adams came off at halftime, as did 10 other U.S. players. Based on this performance, it's tough to see Berhalter getting much in the way of playing time this World Cup.Do we know what Pochettino's best XI is?Not yet, but it's coming into focus.Weston McKennie's entrance in the second half, in which he was involved in the buildup to Balogun's goal, showed he should partner Adams. The backline that was on the field in the first half should be on the field in the next friendly against Germany.Pepi certainly made a case for himself that he should get minutes during the World Cup, but Balogun remains the presumed starter. Dest and Pulisic should be on the wings, with the latter given license to tuck inside.That leaves who should be the attacking midfielder. Gio Reyna was solid in the role in 45 minutes of work, but it will be interesting to see if Malik Tillman or Alejandro Zendejas will get an opportunity to play more centrally than they did Sunday.The goalkeeper position also looks more open than it did before the match, as Turner delivered several sharp saves. Chris Brady was given his debut and hesitated for a critical second in the sequence that led to Man's second goal. Where that leaves Matt Freese, who got the day off, remains unclear.More of Pochettino's thinking will be revealed in the upcoming friendly against Germany.
