The U.S. got the send-off result it wanted in Charlotte, edging Senegal 3-2 in the penultimate tune-up before the World Cup. Sergiño Dest and Christian Pulisic put the hosts two goals up inside 20 minutes, and although Sadio Mané answered with a brace either side of the break, Folarin Balogun settled it with a 63rd-minute winner.

The opening was about as good as Mauricio Pochettino could have scripted. Dest finished off a Pulisic pass in the seventh minute, and Pulisic made it 2-0 on 20 minutes after Ricardo Pepi set him up. Inside the first half-hour at Bank of America Stadium, the U.S. looked in complete control.

Senegal, ranked 14th in the world, refused to fade. Mané pulled one back from a Habib Diarra assist right before halftime, then leveled the match at 2-2 seven minutes into the second half, exposing a U.S. back line that had been heavily rotated during the interval.

The decisive moment belonged to Balogun, a halftime substitute. The Monaco striker restored the lead on 63 minutes, and the U.S. saw out the closing half hour to take the result.

There is plenty for Pochettino to like and a little to fix. Beating a top-15 side is a useful marker, though the two goals conceded after the break will get his attention with the opener now less than two weeks away. The U.S. wrap up their preparations against Germany in Chicago on June 6, then open the World Cup against Paraguay in Los Angeles on June 12. Captain Tim Ream led the team out on the home ground of his club, Charlotte FC.