{"id":31842,"date":"2026-06-07T03:59:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T03:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/31842\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T03:59:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T03:59:10","slug":"usmnt-optimistic-after-losing-2-1-to-germany-at-soldier-field-in-final-match-before-2026-fifa-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/31842\/","title":{"rendered":"USMNT optimistic after losing 2-1 to Germany at Soldier Field in final match before 2026 FIFA World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

The United States Men\u2019s National Team took the pitch at Soldier Field on Saturday but fell short in their final match before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, losing 2-1 to Germany after conceding on each side of halftime.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The loss caps off a two-loss window for the USMNT before the World Cup after they fell 3-2 to Senegal<\/a> in Charlotte last weekend. Fortunately for the Americans, they will not face an opponent in the World Cup group stage with the pedigree of either Germany or Senegal and that has given the group a more optimistic outlook than what one might expect after consecutive losses entering a World Cup on home soil.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The USMNT will open their World Cup campaign on June 12 at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, California when they begin Group D competition against Paraguay.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was an all-Chicago affair before kickoff as Jim Cornelison sang the American national anthem before Chance The Rapper did his obligatory appearance as the celebrity from Chicago in an effort to raise the crowd\u2019s energy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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The energy quickly went in Germany\u2019s favor once the whistle blew and the USMNT found themselves down a goal less than two minutes after the contest began.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Story continues below.<\/p>\n

More Sports News<\/p>\n

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Tyler Adams fouled Germany\u2019s Felix Nmecha on the right wing, which gave the Germans a great angle to whip a cross into the USMNT\u2019s penalty area. German captain Joshua Kimmich promptly swung in a cross to Kai Havertz, who had evaded Miles Robinson, and the Arsenal forward made it look easy as he headed in the free kick from close-range to put his side up 1-0.<\/p>\n

The USMNT equalized on their first shot on goal of the match and it was a finish that will be remembered for generations of American soccer fans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Christian Pulisic\u2019s corner kick was half-cleared to Antonee Robinson and the Fulham fullback took the shot on from 22 yards without allowing the ball to hit the ground, rocketing his left-footed effort into Germany\u2019s net to tie the match at one while sending the Soldier Field crowd into a frenzy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Antonee Robinson did later exit the match due to what both he and USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino described as cramps, leaving him in the picture for when the USMNT takes on Paraguay in California.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Germany took the lead once again in the 57th minute.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bayern Munich\u2019s Jamal Musiala played a nice feed into the USMNT\u2019s penalty area for Kai Havertz, who immediately played the ball back to Leroy San\u00e9. The Galatasaray forward made no doubt about it from 16 yards as he hammered his shot past Matt Freese into the back of the net to give Germany the 2-1 lead with just over a half hour left on the lakefront.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The USMNT had a great chance before the final whistle blew but Germany\u2019s Oliver Baumann saved the day and ensured his side entered their World Cup campaign with a win. Joe Scally, who entered the match in the 72nd minute, found himself with the ball just beyond the 18 in the 81st minute and he proceeded to unleash a strike that was goalbound before Baumann leapt to his right and denied the effort from sneaking into the corner of the net.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mauricio Pochettino was incredibly optimistic after his side\u2019s second loss of their final window before the FIFA World Cup begins, even noting that it was helpful for his side to experience a setback like conceding early against a Germany side that is likely better than anyone they\u2019ll face in Group D because they played well enough afterwards to have something to be proud of.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was thinking that we were lucky to face a situation, conceding a goal against a team like Germany,\u201d Pochettino said. \u201cIt was an amazing challenge for us to see how we react, how we show character, how we show together, man, how we start to play under pressure.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was sad, I was upset, of course, but after [the goal], it changed. I think it\u2019s lucky because I think it\u2019s good for us to see the reaction of the team. The reaction was amazing, it was really positive and that\u2019s why it\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chicago Fire FC Homegrown goalkeeper Chris Brady was an unused substitute, which was the expectation for the USMNT\u2019s third goalkeeper, but the Naperville native told reporters after the match that he\u2019s focused on embracing the opportunity ahead of him in this FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to embrace it,\u201d Brady said after the match at Soldier Field. \u201cI talked to [former USMNT head coach and current Chicago Fire FC head coach and director of football] Gregg Berhalter at the [Chicago Fire\u2019s training] facility when we trained there and he said \u2018embrace every moment, because this is going to be an experience that\u2019s unlike any other. Take as many videos as you can, embrace it, soak in everything that you\u2019re a part of because it could very well be a once in a lifetime thing.\u2019 Fingers crossed that\u2019s not the case, but it\u2019s been an incredible experience so far and I\u2019m looking forward to experiencing a lot more with this group of guys.<\/p>\n

USMNT Starting 11: Matt Freese (GK), Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream (C), Miles Robinson, Alex Freeman, Sergi\u00f1o Dest, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Malik Tillman, Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun<\/p>\n

Substitution at 62\u2019: Auston Trusty, Sebastian Berhalter, Gio Reyna, Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie on for Antonee Robinson, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Malik Tillman and Miles Robinson<\/p>\n

Substitution at 72\u2019: Ricardo Pepi, Tim Weah, Max Arfsten, Cristian Roldan and Joe Scally on for Folarin Balogun, Sergi\u00f1o Dest, Tim Ream, Tyler Adams and Alex Freeman<\/p>\n

USMNT unused subs: Matt Turner (GK), Chris Brady (GK), Alex Zendejas, Haji Wright<\/p>\n

Germany Starting 11: Oliver Baumann (GK), Nathaniel Brown, Jonathan Tah, Joshua Kimmich (C), Nico Schlotterbeck, Aleksandar Pavlovi\u0107, Felix Nmecha, Leroy San\u00e9, Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz<\/p>\n

Substitution at 61\u2019: David Raum, Denis Undav and Waldemar Anton on for Nathaniel Brown, Kai Havertz and Joshua Kimmich<\/p>\n

Substitution at 72\u2019: Jamie Leweling on for Leroy San\u00e9<\/p>\n

Substitution at 80\u2019: Angelo Stiller, Nadiem Amiri, Leon Goretzka and Maximilian Beier on for Aleksandar Pavlovi\u0107, Jamal Musiala, Felix Nmecha and Florian Wirtz<\/p>\n

Germany unused subs: Jonas Urbig (GK), Alexander Nubel (GK), Antonio Rudiger, Malick Thiaw, Pascal Gross, Nick Woltemade<\/p>\n

Attendance: 63636<\/p>\n