Sunday. May 31st.
It is time to stop waiting and start watching. Mauricio Pochettino has another chance to figure out who stays on the bus before the World Cup starts. The USA plays Senegal. It is not just any match. It is the penultimate warm-up before they hit the tournament proper against Paraguay in less than two weeks.
The pressure is on. Pochettino’s guys lost back-to-back friendlies to Belgium and Portugal earlier in the spring. A slump? Maybe. But this one matters. They need to look like a team. Not just a collection of talented individuals who trip over each other in traffic.
The USMNT will be looking to recover its form after two straight defeats.
Across the Atlantic, Senegal arrives with serious momentum. They cruised through African qualifying. Led by Sadio Mané—the man who played for Liverpool and Bayern Munich—the Lions of Teranga are not here to make up numbers. They reached the round of 16 in Qatar in 2022. Now? They want better. Much better.
The Logistics: When and Where
Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. It fits nicely for a southern US friendly. Kickoff is 3:30 p.m. ET. If you are on the West Coast, set your clock for 12:30 p.m. PT.
For the rest of the world? It is awkward timing as always.
* UK: 8:30 p.m. BST
* Australia: 5:30 a.m. AEST the next Monday
If you live in Australia, enjoy the early coffee. It will need to be strong.
How to Stream It (US Viewers)
In the United States, TBS holds the rights. Simple enough. Do you have TBS in your cable package? Good. Skip the rest.
No cable? No problem. Several streaming services carry the channel.
- HBO Max : The match airs here. Direct and simple.
- Sling Blue : Carries TBS. Costs $40/month.
- YouTube TV : TBS is included. $83/month.
- DirecTV Stream : TBS included. $80/month.
- Hulu + Live TV : TBS included. $90/month.
If Spanish is your preference, Peacock offers Telemundo’s coverage. It costs $11/month. A steal, honestly.
Peacock is the go-to for Spanish-language fans.
The VPN Situation
Traveling abroad? Want to watch your home team from a beach in Bali or a bar in Berlin? You might need a VPN.
A Virtual Private Network encrypts your traffic. It stops your ISP from throttling you. It hides you from public Wi-Fi snoops. It is legal in the US, Canada, and most of the Western world.
But here is the catch. Some streaming services hate it. They detect VPNs and block you. You have to read the fine print. Always read the terms of service. If a platform says “no VPN,” using one to bypass that rule can get you in trouble. Proceed with caution. ExpressVPN is often recommended for stability, currently sitting around $3.49 a month with their multi-year plan if you look closely.
Watching Outside the US
The rest of the world is largely in the dark. Or at least, out of luck with major broadcast networks.
Canada : There are no live broadcasting rights sold. That is it. Zero. You cannot stream this legally on Canadian platforms. Geoblocking will bite you here. If you try to watch, you will hit a wall.
Australia : Same story. No broadcaster is showing this warm-up match live. Good luck getting up at 5:30 a.m. and finding a legal way to see it. It does not exist right now.
UK : Lucky them. Premier Sports has the match. They will broadcast it on Premier Sports 1 and their streaming app, the Premier Sports Player. If you live there, tune in. It is exclusive to them for this game.
The USA needs to win this. Senegal is hungry. The stakes feel higher than a “friendly” implies. Two teams trying to send a message to the rest of the football world before the lights really come on in Qatar.
Will Pochettino get his answer on Sunday? Probably. But the real question is whether the squad can look like one cohesive unit.
We shall see. The whistle blows on Sunday. Do not be late. 🏈
