Former Cuban leader Raúl Castro made his first public appearance Friday since the Trump administration charged him with murder over the 1996 shoot-down of planes operated by a Cuban exile group.

Castro appeared on state television during an Interior Ministry celebration in Havana, according to Reuters.

The appearance came weeks after the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment accusing Castro of playing a role in the downing of two aircraft operated by the Miami-based exile organization Brothers to the Rescue nearly 30 years ago.

Castro was charged with conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals, destruction of aircraft and four counts of murder.

DOJ, TREASURY INVESTIGATE NONPROFITS AND LEADERS ALLEGEDLY COORDINATING WITH CUBA IN INFLUENCE CAMPAIGN

Castro, who turned 95 on Wednesday, was last seen publicly during May Day celebrations in Havana, days before the indictment was unsealed.

Prior to his May Day appearance, Castro had remained out of public view for months, appearing only at a public ceremony in Cuba's capital in January honoring 32 Cuban soldiers killed during the U.S. military operation that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The indictment centers on a February 1996 incident in which Cuban military aircraft allegedly shot down two unarmed civilian planes operated by Brothers to the Rescue, killing four men: Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña and Pablo Morales.

OBAMA’S BASEBALL OUTING WITH CASTRO REIGNITES FURY AFTER TRUMP DOJ DROPS HAMMER ON CUBAN LEADER

Prosecutors allege the aircraft were flying outside Cuban territory when they were destroyed.

The indictment came amid rising tensions in the Caribbean and a series of comments from Trump and his surrogates hinting at possible regime change in the island nation.

President Donald Trump previously praised the indictment, saying Cuban Americans whose families suffered under the communist regime had waited decades for accountability.

TRUMP DECLARES NATIONAL EMERGENCY OVER CUBA, THREATENS TARIFFS ON NATIONS THAT SUPPLY OIL TO COMMUNIST REGIME

"We have big news on Cuba, as you know, with the indictment of Castro," Trump said. "A lot of people have suffered very big, very, very, at levels that few people would understand."

Trump also suggested tensions with Cuba would not escalate following the indictment.

"There won’t be escalation," he said. "We won’t have to."

MADURO'S CAPTURE IS 'BEGINNING OF THE END' FOR CUBA'S REGIME, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE CHAIR SAYS

Still, the decision to indict Castro fueled comparisons to the pressure campaign Trump previously used against Maduro.

"At the very least, it means symbolically that he is now set up just as Nicolás Maduro was," Christine Balling, a Cuba expert at the Institute of World Politics and former advisor to U.S. Special Operations Command South, previously told Fox News Digital.

The U.S. indicted Maduro on narco-terrorism charges while tightening sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector, backing opposition efforts to remove him from power and increasing military operations in the Caribbean.

"I don't think that we are necessarily going to conduct the same operation," Balling said. "Raúl Castro is 94 years old. It might not be worth the trouble."

Still, Balling argued that the indictment sent "a very straightforward message that we are 100% behind the fall of the Castro regime."

Fox News Digital's Robert McGreevy, Greg Wehner and Morgan Phillips, along with Fox News' David Spunt, Bill Mears and Jake Gibson contributed to this report. Reuters also contributed to this report.

Customs and Border Protection stopped two separate vehicles and confiscated over $300,000 worth of narcotics over the span of a day.

The apprehensions continue to demonstrate the high volume of narcotics that smugglers are attempting to bring across the southern U.S. border, even as immigration numbers have plummeted in recent months.

On Sunday, May 17, agents at the San Ysidro Port of Entry referred a 2013 Honda Civic for secondary inspection. After an imaging system detected anomalies in the car’s firewall, they discovered six packages of white fentanyl powder worth roughly $113,600 along with 8.4 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $161,600.

CBP OFFICERS SEIZE OVER $14M OF ALLEGED METHAMPHETAMINE AT SOUTHERN BORDER

That same day at the Calexico East Port of Entry, about 100 miles away, a 2011 Nissan Cube was also sent to secondary inspection. Agents there discovered 63 packets of methamphetamine after a scan of that vehicle detected anomalies in its flooring.

Officials praised both detections.

"Sunday may be a day of rest for many, but criminals don’t take days off, and neither do our CBP officers," San Diego Director of Field Operations Sidney Aki said

"Our officers remain vigilant around the clock, and these significant seizures are a direct result of their commitment to keeping dangerous drugs like these from entering our country."

SOUTHERN BORDER APPREHENSIONS PLUNGE MORE THAN 90% FROM YEAR AGO IN APRIL, CBP SAYS

The agency believes its operations are a continuation of efforts laid out by President Donald Trump and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, even as immigration border crossings have come down.

Since the end of 2024, border crossings have plummeted, going from over 144,000 encounters in December 2024 to just 10,000 in April.

Even so, CBP has reported several high-profile smuggling attempts that have sought to bring weapons, narcotics and humans across the U.S. border.

ARREST OF GANG MEMBER CONVICTED OF MURDER PUTS DEM STATE’S SANCTUARY POLICIES ON BLAST

Recently, CBP has released reports on how it had prevented a car carrying a rocket-propelled grenade launcher from crossing the border, detected dozens of immigrants crammed into a semi-truck and even detained a boat off the coast of the Dominican Republic with the help of a Black Hawk helicopter.

"CBP officers along the southwest border stop illegal activity, including the smuggling of drugs and humans, and facilitate lawful entry for millions of legitimate travelers into the United States," CBP said in a statement.

Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner built a national reputation as an anti-corporate crusader while cashing checks written by lobbyists and executives representing those same corporations, campaign finance documents show.

Platner has made criticism of big tech, the pharmaceutical industry, large banks and defense contractors a cornerstone of his campaign to unseat incumbent GOP Sen. Susan Collins. Federal Election Commission and Lobbying Disclosure Act records reviewed by Fox News Digital show that Platner accepted more than $30,000 from lobbyists representing a range of interests and executives at major companies between August 2025 and March of this year.

The donations were made personally by lobbyists and executives, not by the corporations themselves.

"Our new ad speaks to one of the most urgent issues I hear on the campaign trail: our healthcare system is collapsing," Platner posted to X on March 24, referencing a campaign ad where he promised to take on the drug industry if elected to the Senate. "We should shut down Big Pharma, not our hospitals."

UNEARTHED FEC RECORDS EXPOSE VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR'S HYPOCRISY ON TAKING CASH FROM BILLIONAIRES

The Senate hopeful also signed a pledge on March 25 promising to "to put patients over profits" by refusing "contributions over $200 from the executives, lobbyists, and PACs affiliated with the corporate health care industry, including private insurers, pharma corporations, and private hospitals who are organizing to take over our health care system."

Platner, however, months earlier, accepted a $1,000 donation from a lobbyist at Cornerstone Government Affairs who was working as a lobbyist for AbbVie, a major pharmaceutical company, lobbying records show. Shortly after making his post on X, Platner accepted another $1,000 from a lobbyist at Brownstein who represents the drugmakers Novartis and Moderna.

A source at Brownstein told Fox News Digital that Platner's campaign returned their lobbyist's donation, seemingly consistent with his pledge. Cornerstone Government Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.

Platner also criticized Collins for attending an event that was "literally funded by Big Pharma," only to then attend a coffee fundraising event put on by healthcare lobbyists.

"Graham Platner’s faux rage against the oligarchy falls apart the second you follow the money," National Republican Senatorial Committee national press secretary Bernadette Breslin told Fox News Digital. "He’s a shell of a candidate whose phony ‘working-class’ rebrand collapsed before it even got off the ground."

PLATNER’S ONLINE PAST GETS RAUNCHIER WITH CRUDE TAKES ON ‘LATIN AMERICAN HOOKERS,’ CHEATING ABROAD  

Academic research has found evidence that contributions to a member of Congress increase access to their office, suggesting that lobbyist donations are motivated by a desire to shape policy.

Defense contractors have been another target of Platner’s anti-corporate ire on the campaign trail.

On his campaign page, Platner accuses defense contractors of perpetuating "massive waste in procurement" and engaging in war profiteering.

NEW WEBSITE PUTS PLATNER ON NOTICE BY AMPLIFYING SCANDALS: 'ONE RED FLAG AFTER ANOTHER'

"We need to take the funds currently paying for mansions in Virginia and Maryland for defense contractors, and reinvest them into closing the massive shipbuilding gap," his campaign website reads.

Campaign finance and lobbying records, however, show that Platner has accepted thousands of dollars from lobbyists representing major defense contractors such as RTX, Boeing and Anduril.

On banks, Platner has chided Collins for allegedly siding with the interests of big banks over her constituents, while accepting donations from lobbyists representing UBS, Visa and Citigroup and taking cash from a Bank of America executive.

PLATNER'S DELETED REDDIT SPARKS OUTRAGE AGAIN AS HE APPEARS TO MOCK WOUNDED SOLDIER: 'DIDN'T DESERVE TO LIVE'

Speaking about tech, Platner has pledged to break up large firms like Amazon and Google and stated that we will "come after" Jeff Bezos to make sure he pays more taxes. Despite these assurances, Platner has accepted contributions from lobbyists representing Blue Origin, a space technology company founded by Bezos, as well as some working for Amazon, Google and Salesforce.

The banking, tech, pharmaceutical and defense lobbyists who donated to Platner all work for third-party lobbying firms that contract with major corporations to represent their interests in Washington. Google, for example, has no control over who third-party lobbyists decide to make political donations to using their personal funds.

Large corporations, similarly, have no control over who their executives decide to send funds to.

In addition to taking cash from rank-and-file lobbyists, Platner has also accepted donations from executives and partners and multiple lobbying firms.

A partner at Forbes Tate, for example, gave Platner $1,000 at the end of March. Forbes Tate represents clients such as AMD, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Blackstone, Eli Lilly and Co., General Atomics and PhRMA — all of which belong to industries Platner has been critical of. 

He also took $2,350 from senior leadership at Pioneer Public Affairs, a firm that represents the tech company LG and some energy interests, as well as thousands more from executives at the Sony Group Corporation.

While Collins receives considerable support from corporate lobbyists, PACs and executives, she hasn’t been a staunch critic of corporations like Platner. Current campaign finance records only cover up until March, making it likely that Platner has accepted even more money from lobbyists and executives than public documents reveal.

The Platner campaign did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital.

Tennis legend Martina Navratilova says Democrats had a chance to listen about transgender athletes and women’s sex-based rights.

They didn’t.

Navratilova, an 18-time Grand Slam singles champion and one of the most prominent openly gay athletes in sports history, told OutKick in a recent interview that she attempted to get a message to Kamala Harris as Republicans hammered Democrats over the issue of transgender athletes and women’s sex-based rights during the 2024 election.

"I tried to get to Kamala Harris’ campaign," Navratilova told OutKick. "Nobody would listen to me."

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA SAYS BILLIE JEAN KING’S TRANS-ATHLETE STANCE ‘DOESN’T SQUARE’ WITH HER OWN WORDS

OutKick contacted Harris’ office and a former senior communications official for Harris’ 2024 campaign seeking comment on Navratilova’s claim. Neither responded.

For Navratilova, that wasn’t just a campaign problem. It was a Democratic Party problem.

She said the silence from Democrats does not reflect what many of them say privately.

"The politicians, I’ve spoken to some of them, Democrats, and they agree with me. But they said, ‘If I say so publicly, I will get primaried. I will not get reelected,’" Navratilova said.

That leaves Democratic leaders stuck between voters and activists, according to Navratilova.

"Most Democratic voters agree that this is not okay," Navratilova said. "They are against all inclusion and self-ID, and they are for women, but Democrats don’t see how they’re throwing women under the bus this way, and it’s just infuriating."

Polling has shown the issue cuts across party lines. A January 2025 New York Times/Ipsos survey found 67% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning respondents said biological males who identify as girls or women should not be allowed to compete in women’s sports.

Navratilova is not speaking as a conservative outsider.

Navratilova has been publicly out since 1981 and spent decades advocating for gay rights. She still considers herself part of the left.

That’s part of what makes her warning so pointed.

Navratilova said she tried to reach Harris’ campaign through a person connected to the campaign, but couldn’t break through. She said advocates for women’s sex-based rights have run into the same barrier when trying to speak with Democratic lawmakers.

"When we try to get a meeting with the Democratic senators and congresspeople, the staff won’t let us through," Navratilova said. "They’re young people, and they are the ones that control everybody. And they’re the ones that are telling them what’s what."

Navratilova said part of the problem is that Democrats often want to avoid conflict at all costs.

"I mean, we’re Democrats, we want to make everybody happy, right?" Navratilova said. "And women, particularly, they’re taught to be that way, so we don’t want to make anybody mad and upset and hurt, but they’re not seeing the other side, that they’re actually hurting so many women on this front."

That is the heart of the issue, according to Navratilova.

Democrats can talk about inclusion, but biological males entering women’s sports creates consequences for female athletes. It costs them roster spots, podium spots, championships and opportunities.

And Navratilova said those consequences are not limited to college or professional sports.

"It starts at the high school level," Navratilova said.

She pointed to high school athlete AB Hernandez, who won California high school girls’ high jump and triple jump titles in 2025 and defended both state titles in 2026, and other recent cases involving trans-identifying male athletes winning girls’ state championships.

INSIDE THE LAST DANCE OF AB HERNANDEZ

"It’s not just one-off," Navratilova said. "It doesn’t matter how many because one affects everybody around them."

And even one athlete, she argued, can change much more than an individual result.

"Whether they’re on their team or on the opposing team, they win the school championship because the boy won the high jump and now everybody on that team wins and the other team loses because it was not a fair fight," Navratilova said.

Republicans have repeatedly hit Democrats over transgender issues, particularly on biological males in women’s sports. Navratilova said Democrats should not expect that to stop.

"Look how much Trump is bringing it up every chance he gets," Navratilova said. "They are going to keep using it."

One of Trump’s 2024 attack ads targeted Harris over statements she made during the 2019 Democratic primary supporting access to gender-transition procedures for prisoners and detainees, and closed with a simple message: "Kamala’s agenda is they/them, not you."

The ad became one of the clearest examples of what Navratilova says Democrats failed to confront.

"They used it," Navratilova said. "They’re very clever, and it was used against the Democrats in a very effective way."

According to the Associated Press, Harris Deputy Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks called the Trump ad "very effective" and said it made Harris "seem out of touch."

Navratilova’s point is not that the ad alone cost Harris the election. It’s that Democrats made themselves vulnerable on an issue that many voters see as clear-cut.

"I have had so many people say to me, if they can’t say what a woman is, how can I trust them on anything else?" Navratilova said. "Honestly, it’s just so obvious."

She added that the problems go beyond sports.

In her view, Democrats and progressive activists have allowed women’s spaces, awards and opportunities to be redefined in ways that often elevate biological males who identify as women, not females who identify as men.

Sarah McBride became the first openly transgender member of Congress after being sworn in to represent Delaware’s lone House seat. Rachel Levine became the highest-ranking openly transgender federal official in U.S. history after being confirmed as assistant secretary for health under former President Joe Biden.

Dylan Mulvaney, a transgender influencer, was named Woman of the Year by Attitude magazine after the Bud Light controversy.

That is the dynamic Navratilova is talking about.

"Guess who is getting the prizes? Guess who is getting the positions of power?" Navratilova said. "Where is the congresswoman here, or a board of directors here, or head of this charity, or this beauty pageant? It’s always males coming into women’s spaces. It’s not the other way around."

That is why Navratilova believes Democrats are making both a moral mistake and a political one. They are not just losing an argument, she said. They are refusing to have it.

Navratilova tried to warn the Harris campaign.

She says Democratic politicians privately know there’s a problem. But publicly, she says, the party keeps choosing activists over women. And Republicans, Navratilova warned, will keep taking advantage of it.

"If they can’t say what a woman is, how can I trust them on anything else?"

Last week, my organization, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on behalf of 17 of Maryland’s 24 sheriffs challenging the state’s newly enacted "Community Trust Act."

This so-called "trust" legislation is nothing less than a dangerous sanctuary mandate that deliberately obstructs cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. We decided to represent these sheriffs because they are on the front lines of public safety, sworn to uphold both the state and federal constitutions, yet they have now been placed in an impossible constitutional bind by Annapolis politicians.

These 17 plaintiffs represent 70 percent of Maryland’s county sheriffs. They came to us not seeking political gain but relief from a law that handcuffs their ability to protect their communities. As executive director and general counsel of FAIR, an organization dedicated to immigration policies that serve America’s national interest, I could not stand by while dedicated officers are ordered to release criminal illegal aliens back into neighborhoods where they pose ongoing threats.

The ironically named "Community Trust Act" prohibits or severely restricts local correctional facilities from honoring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers, sharing critical information with federal authorities, or detaining removable criminal aliens beyond their scheduled release — except in the narrowest of circumstances. This is not "community trust." The law demands judicial warrants for routine cooperation that federal law already authorizes. It is state-mandated obstruction that turns Maryland into what the sheriffs rightly call an "ultra-sanctuary" state.

MARYLAND LAWMAKERS CLOSER TO PASSING ROADBLOCK TO ICE DEPORTATION EFFORT

I decided to take this case because the human cost of sanctuary policies is no longer abstract; it is measured in the shattered lives of American families. At our press conference, we stood alongside Angel parents Patty Morin, Jim Walden and Tammy Nobles. Patty’s daughter Rachel was brutally raped, beaten, and murdered in 2023, and her body was stuffed into a drainpipe by an illegal alien who had evaded removal thanks in part to lax enforcement and sanctuary protections. Lance Cpl. James (Jimmie) Walden III was killed in 2017 when the motorcycle he was riding was struck by a speeding Mexican national. Tammy lost her daughter Kayla to similar preventable violence. These tragedies were not inevitable. They resulted from policies that prioritize illegal aliens over law-abiding citizens.

Sanctuary laws have failed repeatedly across the country. From New York to California to Chicago, jurisdictions that limit cooperation with ICE have seen surges in crimes committed by individuals who should have been deported long ago. Repeat offenders — convicted of assault, drug trafficking, sexual abuse, and homicide — are released back into communities because local police are prohibited from notifying or assisting what should be federal partners. The data is clear: When cooperation ends, lawlessness increases. Innocent Americans pay with their lives. Maryland is now doubling down on this failed experiment despite the evidence and despite the pleas of its own sheriffs.

This lawsuit is about more than Maryland. It is important for all Americans to oppose sanctuary laws because immigration enforcement is a national responsibility, not a local option. The Constitution’s Supremacy Clause ensures that federal law prevails in areas of national authority like immigration. States cannot nullify federal statutes or commandeer local officers to undermine them. When one state creates safe havens for criminal aliens, it affects every American through increased crime, strained resources, higher taxes, and an eroded rule of law. Criminals cross state lines, and we cannot allow a patchwork of resistance that renders federal immigration policy meaningless.

ANGEL PARENTS SLAM ILLINOIS SANCTUARY LAWS AFTER 'PREVENTABLE' TRAGEDY IN STUDENT'S DEATH

Our sheriffs are not asking for new powers. They simply want to do their jobs without fear of state punishment for complying with federal law. The act forces them to choose between violating their oaths or facing state penalties. By interfering, Maryland is not only endangering its residents but inviting federal preemption challenges.

FAIR has long documented the failures of sanctuary policies. Law-abiding, legal immigrants and citizens alike suffer when criminals are shielded. Police cannot effectively combat gangs, drugs, or human trafficking without full access to immigration databases and detainer authority. The notion that restricting cooperation somehow makes communities safer defies both logic and experience.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

Gov. Wes Moore allowed the bill to become law without his signature, citing implementation concerns yet refusing to veto it. Sheriffs and citizens deserve better than half-measures and virtue signaling. Public safety demands full enforcement of immigration laws, secure borders, and cooperation at every level of government.

This fight transcends partisan lines. It is about whether we remain a nation of laws or descend into selective enforcement that favors lawbreakers. FAIR stands shoulder-to-shoulder with these Maryland sheriffs because their battle is America’s battle. We will pursue every legal avenue to strike down this dangerous law and restore the ability of law enforcement to keep criminal illegal aliens off our streets.

Americans everywhere should watch Maryland closely. If sanctuary ideology prevails here, it will spread. The stakes are innocent lives — daughters, sons, neighbors — who deserve protection, not political experiments. 

We filed this suit to defend the rule of law, honor the lives of innocent victims like Rachel, Jimmie and Kayla, and ensure that sheriffs can fulfill their sacred duty. For Maryland and for the nation, this reckless policy must be stopped.

A Democratic candidate waging a high-stakes bid for one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country touted connections to a group pushing to keep laxer restrictions around commercial driver's licenses (CDLs) for undocumented immigrants.

Rebecca Cooke, running in Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District to unseat incumbent Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wisc., highlighted an endorsement from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

"I’m honored to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the hard-working men and women of AFSCME.," Cooke wrote.

Cooke’s alignment with AFSCME continues Democrats' pushback against crackdowns on proof of citizenship status in certain industries.

TRUMP-BACKED VAN ORDEN PROJECTED TO DEFEAT DEM CHALLENGER IN COMPETITIVE WISCONSIN DISTRICT

Cooke did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Over the past year, the Department of Homeland Security has highlighted several instances where Americans were killed by illegal aliens who acquired CDLs.

In one such case, Dawood Hussain, a Pakistani native, was charged in April with vehicular homicide after driving a commercial truck down the wrong way of a highway, killing a U.S. citizen in a collision.

"Illegal aliens should not be operating 80,000-pound tractor-trailers on American roads," USCIS spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser said of the incident.

TRUCKER SLAPPED WITH CHARGES IN FATAL DRIVING INCIDENT PREVIOUSLY IMMIGRATED TO US ILLEGALLY: SOURCE

"This tragedy, like many others, was completely preventable. Under President Trump’s leadership, USCIS remains committed to safeguarding our communities by helping to ensure dangerous illegal aliens are removed from our country, as well as supporting the president’s call for even tougher measures to prevent future truck tragedies."

As states and federal lawmakers evaluate rules surrounding CDLs, AFSCME has pushed back, arguing that the standards should remain open to encourage job maximization — even for illegal immigrants.

The group published a toolkit, instructing businesses on how to circumvent restrictions on CDLs to illegal aliens.

Additionally, the group has sued the Trump administration for imposing federal requirements through the Department of Transportation that would require states to secure proof of lawful immigration status.

Cooke’s alignment with AFSCME is especially noteworthy in Wisconsin, a state with a trucking workforce.

CALIFORNIA TO REVOKE 17,000 COMMERCIAL DRIVER’S LICENSES GIVEN TO IMMIGRANTS AMID TRUMP ADMIN PRESSURE

Over 186,600 residents of Wisconsin are employed in the trucking industry, according to the Wisconsin Motor Carrier Association — a figure accounting for roughly 1 in every 14 jobs in the state.

Cooke last lost a congressional election to Van Orden, 51.3% to 48.6%, in 2024.

Christian Pulisic is considered to be one of the best American-born soccer players in the world and is expected to be a major part of the U.S. national team’s run in the upcoming World Cup.

It’s why the goal drought going into a friendly against Senegal was absolutely bizarre. Pulisic hadn’t put one into the back of the net since Dec. 28 when AC Milan defeated Hellas Verona in a Serie A match.

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He got the weight off his back on Sunday when he scored in the 19th minute of the U.S. match against Senegal.

"Now maybe we can stop talking about it," he said after the match.

The Americans won, 3-2, despite Sadio Mané tying the match early in the second half. Folarin Balogun put the U.S. ahead in the 62nd minute.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Pulisic was scoreless in his final 19 matches for AC Milan. The score also ended an eight-match scoreless streak while playing for the U.S. national team.

"I felt this confidence, like I have played really well in recent months, but all everyone seems to want to worry about is goals. So, hopefully, we can stop talking about it," Pulisic said. "We have games ahead and I have to be ready."

US SOCCER LEGEND CLINT DEMPSEY PREVIEWS TEAM'S WORLD CUP CHANCES, DISCUSSES 'RESPONSIBILITY' TO GROW THE GAME

Pulisic added that it was a relief to finally get the goal.

"The performance of Christian, for 45 minutes, was really, really good," U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said. "He still has the potential to improve. But I think it is the way that he is training from day one. (The) way he played for 45 minutes was the habits that he created last week. Every day training with this attitude, with this commitment, with this energy. I think now we need to try to extend (it) until 90 minutes.

"I am happy for him also because after a long time, a few months, he scored again. Obviously, that is important for our players in the preparation to the World Cup."

The U.S. will play Germany in its next friendly on Saturday. Then, it’s off to its first World Cup Group D match against Paraguay.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.