00:00Mauricio Pochettino, the United States manager, was happy with the performance of attacker Christian Pulisic in Sunday's 3-2 friendly
00:08win over Senegal.
00:10Pulisic broke his five-month scoring drought with a goal and an assist.
00:15For Pulisic, the weight off his shoulders was evident after he scored, as he yelled and slid to his knees
00:21in celebration.
00:23By defeating Senegal, the USMNT builds momentum for the World Cup, but there are still concerns.
00:30Jeff Carlisle, Pulisic scores a 26-goal as the United States defeats Senegal.
00:36Services for ESPN Pulisic, an 8 out of 10, USMNT's best player in pre-World Cup win over Senegal.
00:43Clark Ryan, I felt his confidence.
00:45I've played really well in recent months too, but all people seem to care about his goals.
00:51Pulisic said,
00:52Therefore, hopefully, people will stop talking about it now.
00:56Also, I'm feeling good and obviously just being friendly right now.
01:00I have to be ready because we have big games coming up.
01:04The match was the first of two pre-World Cup friendlies, with the US set to take on Germany on
01:09Saturday.
01:10On June 12th, the United States will face Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, to kick off the World
01:18Cup.
01:19Pulisic assisted on Sergio Descoles in the 7th minute.
01:22And then doubled the United States' lead in the 20th minute by rounding Senegal, keeper Mori Diol, and scoring from
01:28a tight angle.
01:29The goal was Pulisic's first for club or countries in scoring for AC Milan on December.
01:3428th, the goal also ended an eight-game drought with the US that dated to November 2024.
01:41Pochettino noted that the goals were a result of the effort Pulisic put in during practice in the lead-up
01:47to the game.
01:48Pochettino said to Pulisic, who only played the first half,
01:51Every day, training with his attitude, commitment, and energy, I think now we need to try to extend until 90
01:59minutes.
02:00Happy for him also, because after a long time or a few months, without a goal, let's score again,
02:06which is important for a player knowing the preparation to the World Cup.
02:09Christian Pulisic celebrates after scoring a goal for the United States against Senegal.
02:17Overall, Pochettino said he was satisfied with the performance, though he added there was still work to be done.
02:23I think it was, I think positive to finish after 90 minutes in a good form, he said.
02:28I think with the possibility to have nearly the whole roster playing minutes.
02:33I think there are a lot of good things about it.
02:35There are things that we need to improve, obvious things that we need to improve,
02:39but I think I'm happy to finish the first week of training and competing against a really good team like
02:44Senegal.
02:45The US squander the two-goal advantage Pulisic helped create by conceding two goals to Senegal star Sadio Mane.
02:53On the first, the US failed to manage a transition opportunity after a turnover in midfield.
02:58The second was a result of a sloppy pass from US defender Miles Robinson and a moment's hesitation from substitute
03:05keeper Chris Brady.
03:07Foler and Baligan scored from the left side of the penalty box in the 63rd minute after latching on to
03:13a cross from Timothy Weah.
03:15Despite the win, Pochettino noted that there are defensive issues that need to be cleaned up.
03:20I think for me, under my view and my opinion, I think things that we concede were through our mistake.
03:26The US coach said,
03:28If we improve in a way to manage some situation, I think we will avoid them, Pochettino added.
03:35Of course, they have quality and very good player, but I think the chances that we concede were all being
03:41with the capacity to read better some actions on the game.
03:44I think we can avoid the possibility to concede, and we are going to be focused next week working in
03:50all the type of thing to try to improve.
03:52After opening Group D play against Paraguay, the US will face Australia and Turkey as it looks to advance to
03:59the Round of 32 knockout stage.
04:01The World Cup begins on June 11th when co-host Mexico plays South Africa in Mexico City.
04:08Sources
04:09Liverpool said to open talks with Andoni Irola this week.
04:13Play
04:14Robson
04:15Big contracts created problems for Slott at Liverpool 107.
04:19Liverpool said to open formal talks with Andoni Irola this week as they worked to point Arne Slott's successor.
04:26Sources told ESPN.
04:28After a difficult season in which he oversaw 20 defeats across all competitions and guided his team to a 5th
04:34place finish in the Premier League.
04:36Slott was fired by Liverpool on Saturday.
04:39Sources told ESPN the decision to part ways with the Dutchman was taken with reluctance in light of his success
04:45during the 2024-25 season,
04:47in which he won the Premier League title at the first time of asking after replacing the talismanic Jurgen Klopp.
04:54Andoni Irola was a huge success at Bournemouth, having guided the Cherries to qualify for Europe for the first time
05:00in their history.
05:01Get the images of Robin Jones.
05:03AFC Bournemouth slash AFC Bournemouth, however.
05:05Liverpool are now targeting a more aggressive, front-footed brand of football, with Irola the standout candidate on a small
05:13shortlist which also contains Stuttgart's Sebastian Honus.
05:16ESPN was informed by sources that Liverpool wants to hire a new head coach before the World Cup begins on
05:22June 11th,
05:23giving Slott's successor maximum time to work with the team and plan for next season.
05:27Slott leaves Liverpool following a difficult season, but his legacy is secure.
05:34Irola is out of contract following three successful years at Bournemouth, where he was appointed by Liverpool's current sporting director
05:44Richard Hughes,
05:45who had been impressed by the Spaniards' record at Rio Vallecano.
05:49The 43-year-old led Bournemouth to a top-six finish last term, securing European qualification for the first time
05:56in the club's history.
05:57Sources have said that Irola's £10 million, $13.4 million yearly salary demand at Bournemouth, which the club was unable
06:06to meet,
06:06will not be an issue at Liverpool where Slott was on a similar pay deal.
06:10Information from ESPN's Mark Ogden also contributed to this report.
06:15Irola's Mark Ogden is a very important report.
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