USA vs Germany
There is now just a week until the World Cup gets underway and, for Germany and the USA – who meet on Saturday night in the Soldier Field in Chicago in their final international friendly before the real action begins – the pressure is on.
Germany may have been world champions in 2014 but the unthinkable has occurred in their two World Cups since with group stage exits, the most recent providing this SBOTOP scribbler with one of the most dramatic nights he’s ever encountered.
They have since restored some credibility and reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 where they were pipped by eventual winners Spain.
This time, though, nothing less than a place in the latter stages of the competition will be acceptable to a nation which is usually at the sharp end of major international tournaments.
Talking Points
Coach Julian Nagelsmann is likely to rely on a core of players from the country’s dominant club side Bayern Munich.
Jonathan Tah, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka, Jamal Musiala and impact substitute Lennart Karl (with Serge Gnabry out through injury) will all have roles to play, as no doubt will veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who ended his international retirement last month to play in his fifth World Cup.
Up front could be where the gap falls for, while Niclas Füllkrug and Nick Woltemade are good pros, neither appear to be ready to take over the goalscoring mantle some of their more recent predecessors such as Jurgen Klinsmann, Rudi Voeller and Miroslav Klose.
One of the players of the tournament for me could be Jamal Musiala. The Bayern Munich man is considered by some to be the crown jewel of Germany’s midfield, renowned for his elite close control, ability to break defensive lines and creative vision.
The playmaker netted three times at Euro 2024 and, after recovering from a broken leg and dislocated ankle, returned to Bayern for the final third of the season with the German champions.
Three goals and six assists from 15 games (only seven as a starter) suggest he may be coming back to form at just the right time for the national team.
It’s a different kind of pressure on the US.
The hosts are in a testing World Cup group comprising Turkey, Paraguay and Australia but Mauricio Pochettino’s men expect to navigate the early hurdles and are tipped to make the last 16, and possible even a quarter-final place.
Led by talisman Christian Pulisic, the USA will have a passionate home following, roaring them on wherever they play. AC Milan star Pulisic is still, remarkably, only 27 years of age but he seems to have been around for ages, and he has been his nation’s go-to man on the big occasions.
There are goals in the US’s clutch of forwards. Haji Wright scored 17 in the Championship as Coventry City won the title. Folarin Balogun weighed in with 13 for Monaco in Ligue 1, plus another five in the Champions League. Ricardo Pepi finished joint-third in the Dutch Eredivisie charts with 16. All in all, it represents decent firepower.
Appointed in 2024 after the US went out in the groups at a home Copa América under Gregg Berhalter, Pochettino is expected to return to the club scene following this tournament.
Some international friendly 2026 highlights this weekend would be the ideal confidence booster before the real stuff begins.
History
Believe it or not, the sides had not met until the US Cup in 1993 – the tournament that perhaps started to change the mindset of US football from perennial whipping boys ahead of them hosting the World Cup 12 months later.
It ended as a seven goal thriller in Chicago with a Klinsmann goal and a Karl-Heinz Riedle hat-trick winning the day in Germany’s favour.
Their two most recent clashes have been friendlies. In 2015 in Cologne, the Statesiders won 2-1 against the reigning world champions.
Mix Diskerud and Bobby Wood scored that day after Matip Gotze had put the Germans ahead.
They then met in a friendly in the States in October 2023 when Ilkay Gundogan, Fullkrug and Musiala were on target with Pulisic replying for the Stars n’ Stripes.
Overall, the US have four victories, exactly half the number of German successes.
Their last World Cup meeting was in 2014, a group stage contest when Thomas Muller scored the only goal of the game against the US, managed by former Germany hero Klinsmann.
Betting Tip
Don’t forget to check out the SBOTOP international friendly 2026 betting odds ahead of kick-off.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
