The United States will play Germany on Saturday at sold-out Soldier Field in Chicago, its last World Cup tuneup before the tournament. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m., and the match will be shown on TBS and Telemundo 62.
The timing gives the Americans a rare test against a No. 10 team in FIFA’s global men’s rankings, and one of the game’s most decorated powers, with four World Cups and three European championships. It is also the 13th all-time men’s matchup between the countries, coming a week short of 33 years after the first meeting in the same stadium.
That backdrop is part of why this game has drawn so much attention, but the pull is personal for Malik Tillman. Born in Nuremberg to an American father and a German mother, Tillman turned 24 last week and said playing Germany before the World Cup carries a meaning that goes beyond the scoreboard. He committed to the United States in 2022 after going back and forth between the two nations’ youth teams, and he did not make the U.S. World Cup squad that year.
“For me, it’s very special,” Tillman said, adding that he dreams of playing in the World Cup and that facing Germany right before it is already an amazing memory. “It’s great to be here, it’s great to be able to play this kind of game, and it’s going to be very special and emotional for me.”
Germany’s group brings plenty of weight of its own, led by Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, Joshua Kimmich and Manuel Neuer, who is 40. Lennart Karl is 18 and Nathaniel Brown is 22, part of a squad that mixes established names with players still carving out their place. Havertz called the Americans “a good team” and said the weekend should be a tough test. He also said the crowd will want to see America show it is a top football country, too.
There is no shortage of familiarity inside the U.S. camp. Joe Scally plays club soccer for Borussia Mönchengladbach in Germany and said he would rather face a stronger opponent than a soft one, because the best way to prepare is to challenge yourself against the best. Thursday’s practice was the Americans’ last at the national training center before the trip to Chicago, leaving Saturday as the final live exam before the World Cup begins. For the U.S., the question is not whether the opponent is big enough. It is whether the team can leave Soldier Field with proof it belongs on that stage.
Kai Havertz, who won the English Premier League with Arsenal and played with Christian Pulisic at Chelsea, also trained under U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino there, another thread linking the sides. But the stakes now are simpler and sharper: the Americans have one final chance to measure themselves against a top-10 opponent before the tournament starts, and Germany arrives with enough pedigree to make every mistake matter.
