What we learned about USMNT's World Cup chances in fiercely competitive tune-up loss to Germany

What we learned about USMNT’s World Cup chances in fiercely competitive tune-up loss to Germany originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The last time the United States men’s national team lost their final exhibition game in advance of a World Cup, they advanced for the only time in modern history to the quarterfinal stage.

So a 2-1 Germany victory Saturday against the USMNT means it’s 2002 all over again?

Well, maybe not.

It was a solid performance from the Americans, though, frequently displaying a degree of dominance but also underscoring this team’s one glaring weakness as they prepare for Friday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 opener against Paraguay in Los Angeles.

The Sporting News takes a look at the most important takeaways from this game with the tournament launch less than a week away.

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Four things we learned from USMNT defeat against Germany

The U.S. fell behind inside the first couple of minutes when Arsenal striker Kai Havertz headed in a perfect free kick from Germany captain Joshua Kimmich, and the winning goal came just before the hour mark when Havertz set up Leroy Sané for a left-footed strike that U.S. keeper Matt Freese had no chance to stop.

In between came a golazo from U.S. left back Antonee Robinson, along with some serious pressure from the USMNT attack.

The U.S. needs Chris Richards to return, pronto

Pochettino chose to select six central defenders for the 26-man roster, perhaps in the hope that someone aside from Richards would start to look like a World Cup defender.

Through 180 minutes against contenders Senegal and Germany, nothing of the sort has materialized.

They might be able to take some comfort in the fact none of the four goals allowed was to anything less than a big-time player: Sadio Mane, Havertz and Sane have all been essential players for Premier League champions.

But it’s obvious the U.S. defense simply doesn’t work without Richards there to cover for Alex Freeman’s lack of experience and Tim Ream’s excess of experience.

Richards has not played, either for Crystal Palace or the USMNT, since spraining his ankle May 17 in a Premier League game against Brentford. That meant missing the closing game in the league against Arsenal and the UEFA Conference League final, as well as the Senegal and Germany games.

He has been practicing with the national team this past week, and he has until Friday to be ready because all 26 players are eligible on game day. Richards was named the US Soccer Male Player of the Year for 2025, scoring twice from his central defender position in 12 appearances. His presence in the back line always meant the U.S. had at least one high-level defender in place.

Without him Saturday, starters Miles Robinson and Ream were at fault in both of Germany’s goals. Ream made some outstanding plays and decisions through his time on the field, but it is the price of the position he plays that even a single mistake can be punished.

On Havertz’s headed goal in the second minute off a free kick from right back Joshua Kimmich, Ream was caught on a pick play by Germany’s Nico Schlotterbeck and failed to communicate the need for a change. He also might have accentuated the contact by going down and perhaps drawing a foul but instead stayed up and hopelessly out of the play. Schlotterbeck went right across Robinson’s vision to set the screen, and yet there was no reaction to this from the U.S. defender. Robinson got caught up in some handfighting with another German player and allowed Havertz to dash ahead of him.

On the second goal, Ream dropped typically deep to account for his lack of speed, then was caught off balance when attacking midfielder Jamal Musiala played a sharp pass into the box for Havertz; Ream was in position neither to challenge him nor Sane when the ball was played back for him to seize. Robinson was late to the play, as well.

It’s not good enough.

It won’t be good enough in Group D play, and surely not if the U.S. is able to advance.

Not unless Richards is out there on the field. No one is trying to say he’s Paolo Maldini, but he’s the best the U.S. has at the moment.

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If the Bears don’t want Soldier Field, the USMNT will take it

The U.S. might wish it could play the entire World Cup at the North end of Soldier Field.

The Americans have scored bigger goals in other places – thinking Paul Caliguiri in Trinidad, or Landon Donovan in Pretoria, South Africa – but two of the wildest, most amazing goals ever authored by the national team occurred at the same end and the same general position in Chicago’s century-old stadium.

Robinson’s searing 37th-minute volley nearly tore through the back of the goal. It resulted when Germany headed a corner kick from Christian Pulisic outside the 18-yard box, with the ball flying directly toward the player who likes to be called “Jedi”. He waited until the ideal moment to strike; if he’d swung sooner, he might have missed entirely or knocked it into the stands. Instead, the shot soared past goalkeeper Oliver Baumann to tuck just on the proper side of the crossbar.

It was nearly identical to one of the most memorable goals in USMNT history, scored in the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup final against Mexico, when midfielder Benny Feilhaber secured a 2-1 victory and tournament championship with a rocketed right-foot volley. Same stadium. Same end. Almost the same spot.

Robinson had a rough year with injuries and wondered if he’d recover in time for this World Cup. He had surgery on his right knee and was limited to 22 Premier League games and 17 starts for Fulham in the 2025-26 season. He did not appear for the USMNT in the calendar year 2025.

“It was a great feeling,” Robinson told Turner Sports. “There’s been a lot of times this season I couldn’t really see the light at the end of the tunnel. I didn’t feel like I was going to make it to this point. Getting through the game – struggling a little bit at the end, but I’ll be fine healthwise – and knowing like I’m ready to help this team at the World Cup and do something special for this country, it’s an amazing feeling.”

MORE: Antonee Robinson scores screaming volley in loss to Germany

Tyler Adams should have been chosen as US captain

Yes, Adams made perhaps the single biggest mistake of the game, a sloppy foul against midfielder Felix Nmecha just 43 seconds in that set up the Germany free kick and initial goal.

Man, did he respond, though.

“We saw what we wanted to see in this game, in the sendoff,” Adams told Turner Sports. “It’s the moments of the game; to concede that early in the game like this is always going to make it difficult, but the character we showed, the energy, the resilience … guys were going at it like it was a World Cup final, and I think that’s what we wanted to see.”

Adams was credited by FotMob.com with 11 defensive contributions – nine tackles and two clearances – in 72 minutes. He played the defensive midfield position with the kind of intelligent ferocity that made him indispensable throughout the 2022 World Cup but was frequently absent as he since battled a series of injuries.

After Havertz roughed up Ream on a play, Adams went after him with a hard tackle to make sure the Germany side understood the Americans would not be pushovers in any sense.

Adams always has been a leader, but he’s also a far superior player to Ream at this stage. When a team captain is struggling to get his own game in order, that can have an impact on those around him. Pochettino missed there.

The more you watch and listen to Adams, the more it seems he might one day be in the exact position as Poch stands now. Yeah, you heard it here first: Tyler Adams for USMNT head coach at the 2038 World Cup.

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A home World Cup could be amazing

The USMNT will not be feted with NBA-style player introductions at any point in the World Cup, as they were Saturday before the Germany game.

The opponents had to stand in place not only while the starters were introduced with bellowing emphasis from the PA announcer, but also while the available reserves were introduced. It’ll just be a march onto the field when the World Cup opens Friday against Paraguay.

But the crowd at whatever FIFA is calling SoFi Stadium will be free to comport themselves as they wish, and one can expect it will resemble what we saw in Charlotte for the Senegal game and in Chicago for Germany.

The Soldier Field audience was overwhelmingly in favor of the U.S. Of course, U.S. Soccer sold the tickets for this, and it has no control over the majority of the sales for the World Cup games. But the overwhelming home-field advantages we saw in 1994 seem likely to be repeated this time around.

“I’m most looking forward to playing in front of our fans,” Robinson told Turner Sports. “If we can keep these atmospheres going, it’s going to will us a long way.”