The United States Men’s National Team took on Germany for their final friendly ahead of the 2026 World Cup. On a warm Chicago afternoon that somehow was both rainy and sunny, Germany proved a little bit too incisive as they edged just past the US 2-1.
As the game kicked off, the rain started to fall, and with it, Germany rained on the USMNT’s parade. Germany scored immediately, winning a freekick off of Tyler Adams and then Kai Havertz scored an easy header on the restart. 1-0 for Germany
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After a flurry of German attacks that didn’t quite go anywhere, the rain started to ease up and the US came into the game. The US started to hold possession better and managed to get a few threatening moments at the start, with Dest getting found clear in behind the German backline, but Germany’s defense recovered and Dest lost possession before conceding a foul. The US later had whipped in cross in front of Germany’s goal but weren’t able to turn it into a shot. Then, the US was able to manufacture a chance off a corner, finding Jedi Robinson on the short before Dest skied a shot over.
The game got mugged down under the Illinois sun and, while the US seemed to have the better of the possession, things seemed to get bogged down until both teams mostly threatened through only set pieces. And then, well, Jedi Robinson is magic and he used some of that magic to pull out a stunning volley.
ANTONEE ROBINSON UNLEASHES THE STRIKE OF A LIFETIME 🤯
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) June 6, 2026
AN ALL-TIMER USMNT WONDERGOAL 🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/UMvKdx4JuO
Germany got lucky when, on the break, Pulisic was hacked down while running clear at the German backline. The ref let the play forward and the attack fizzled to end with a shot pulled well wide. But it was clear, momentum in the closing minutes was with the USMNT. Later, Dest would put a shot just above the bar, and then Pulisic got a moment to show off his dance moves before his shot was deflected up and over. And that wasn’t the only moment Pulisic had. In added time, he again had a shot deflected after getting space to run. That corner was again played short to A. Robinson who gave it to Pulisic who again had his shot blocked. Alas, the next corner also came to naught so the score remained level at 1-1 into the half.
The second half restarted with neither side making any apparent substitutions, to my surprise. The US again started with some aggressive play, with a flurry of shots on target thwarted before the flag went up. It certainly wasn’t one-way-traffic — Germany got a shot in on target that was hit right at Freese — but it was the US spending more time in threatening moments.
Then, somewhat against the run of play, Germany got their second. Die Mannschaft got into the US box and Leroy Sane was found clear for a cut back and he managed to squeeze a shot through a crowded box into the back corner. 2-1 to Germany and the US again behind.
Just after the hour mark, both Germany and the US made a bevy of changes. Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson, Miles Robinson, Weston McKennie came off for Gio Reyna, Auston Trusty, Mark McKenzie, and Seb Berhalter. It looked like the formation stayed the same, but Freeman got pushed to the wingback/right back role, while Dest swapped over to the left. Ten minutes later came another set of major changes, with only Freese left from the starting line up. Off came Ream, Freeman, Dest, Adams, and Balogun, on came Arfsten, Scally, Aaronson, Weah, and Aaronson.
In the 81’, the US again got into the box, with Scally eventually getting a shot off and forcing a save. For their part, Germany was not done with the game either. They managed to architecture an attack in the 82’, but put it wide of Freese’s far post. In the 87’, the US got onto the other end, with Aaronson putting a good shot in to force Baumann into a save. The resulting corner was briefly threatening after the US managed to recover possession from the initial cross, but the moment ended with a shot well over the bar. From there, there was but one moment of note… Tim Weah went in for a hard challenge right in front of the benches, leading to a mass confrontation. Weah got a yellow for his troubles, but nothing else came of it and the game essentially ended likewise.
It certainly wasn’t the result that the US would have wanted, and conceding such an early goal could be viewed as concerning. But the team responded well and both had strong spells of play and created both good moments and good chances. It was a performance with some shine to it. On another day, perhaps with a little more luck and a little better finishing, perhaps the result goes the US’s way.
Germany next appears for their Group I game on June 14th against Curaçao. The USMNT next appears for their first World Cup game against Paraguay on Friday, June 12th.