Sergino Dest’s first U.S. men’s national team goal since 2021 kickstarted Sunday’s eventual friendly win over Senegal and now the American fullback/wingback is focused on carrying that energy over into the squad’s final FIFA World Cup tuneup. Dest played 45 minutes in Sunday’s 3-2 result at Bank of America Stadium, celebrating his third senior goal for the USMNT. The dynamic PSV defender is fighting alongside Joe Scally and Alex Freeman for minutes this summer, but does have the edge in terms of World Cup minutes. Now with Germany awaiting Mauricio Pochettino’s men on Saturday, Dest is ready to contribute in the USMNT’s sendoff match. “You’re just more motivated and you’re happy that you scored and could help the team,” Dest said to media on Wednesday. “But yeah, we just got to continue like this.“It’s a great start that we won against Senegal for me, personally the champions of Africa,” he added. “The next game is also going to be a really important test against Germany.”The USMNT were able to give many of the 57,741 fans in Charlotte, North Carolina plenty to cheer about after rebounding from a pair of March defeats. Unlike some of the CONCACAF showdowns in the United States, Sunday’s friendly gave a strong indication of the support that the USMNT will receive throughout the country over the next month. Dest credited the fanbase for coming out at a crucial time of the USMNT’s World Cup preparation, admitting large crowds do help against tough opponents. “We have also played in stadiums that we didn’t really have fans, but to have a stadium full with all USA fans that is special and that is also what we need,” Dest said. “So we appreciate that and we want that kind of support because that helps us and look what we guys gave you back…a winner against Senegal, so we need it. “It’s great to have it like that,” he continued, “We want to have it always like that because it just helps us so much to win games. Even for the opponents, it just scares them as well.”While many USMNT fans will be happy with the Senegal result, Dest isn’t too worried about it considering it was a friendly. Germany will be another stern test for Pochettino’s men, especially given the fact that Julian Nagelsmann’s squad rolled past Finland 4-0 last weekend. Paraguay opposes the USMNT in both teams’ Group D opener on June 12, and although Senegal and Germany are both higher-ranked than La Albirroja in the FIFA standings, Dest expects group stage play to bring a different sense of pressure. “Friendlies are always friendlies,” Dest said about the USMNT’s pair of friendlies. “Even for the opponents, you don’t know if they play with their starting 11, even with us. We are all trying to figure things out and in a World Cup you just have different type of pressure, I feel like for everyone and it’s just a little bit more serious. So you can’t compare it.”