When U.S. Soccer announced the pre-World Cup slate of friendly matches for the United States Men’s National Team back on December 2nd, there was one match on May 31st in Charlotte that was without an opponent. Today, U.S. Soccer revealed that Senegal will be the opponent for that match as the two teams meet up in the Continental Clásico at Bank of America Stadium.
First reported two days ago by Steven Goff of Yahoo! Sports, the Senegal match will be the first of two “send-off” matches for the USMNT during the June window that takes place to allow teams to prepare for the 2026 World Cup, which begins on June 11th in Mexico City. It will be the first time the USMNT has ever faced Senegal, ranked 19th in the world and one of Africa’s strongest teams. Senegal went unbeaten in World Cup qualifying to win their group and qualify for the 2026 World Cup. They were drawn into Group I during the FIFA World Cup Draw last Friday, where they will face France, Norway and the FIFA Playoff 2 winner (Iraq, Bolivia, or Suriname) in the group stage. The match was in the works prior to the Draw, but it was contingent on the teams not being drawn into Group D together, where the USMNT will be. Once the draw took place, the match was able to be finalized.
“We are so happy to have such a great team in Senegal as our fourth opponent in the matches leading up into the tournament,” head coach Mauricio Pochettino said in a statement. “In the year leading up to the World Cup, we will have played at least one team from five different confederations which is incredibly valuable for our preparations. We are looking forward to an amazing crowd in Charlotte.”
It’s just the second time the USMNT has played in Charlotte, the last coming during the 2023 Gold Cup group stage against Trinidad & Tobago. This match will be a huge test for the USMNT as they cast aside the traditional setting up of non-World Cup opponents for their send-off matches. The Senegal match is the final piece of the puzzle as the USMNT have now finalized. They will face Belgium and Portugal during the March window at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. After the Senegal match in Charlotte on May 31st, they will head to Soldier Field in Chicago to face Germany in their final match before they open up World Cup group play against Paraguay on June 12th.
