Overview
Expectations are placed very high on the US team when they host the 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico. However, recreating the achievement of reaching the semi-finals as in the first World Cup in 1930 is still not an easy task for Mauricio Pochettino's team.
The US team is a familiar face at World Cups when participating in 8 of the last 9 tournaments. The only time they were absent was at the 2018 World Cup. However, the 2026 World Cup will be Pochettino's first major tournament as head coach of the national team.
As co-hosts, the US does not have to participate in the CONCACAF regional qualifiers and mainly uses friendly matches to prepare for the tournament. Since the defeat to Mexico in the Gold Cup final last year, the US has played quite erratically with 5 wins, 1 draw and 3 defeats after 9 friendly matches.
Although they have impressed with victories against Japan and Uruguay, the US also lost heavily to Belgium and Portugal. However, the 3-2 victory over Senegal in the most recent friendly match partly helped them regain confidence.
The match against Germany is therefore considered the final important test before the US enters the World Cup campaign, where they will successively face Paraguay, Australia and Turkey in Group D.
On the other side of the battle line, Germany is heading towards the 2026 World Cup with the desire to regain their position after two consecutive World Cups being eliminated right from the group stage.
Since the championship in 2014, they have not been able to recreate their glory. However, under Julian Nagelsmann, the German team is showing very positive signs.
Germany passed the World Cup qualifiers with an impressive record when winning 5 out of 6 matches, and closed the campaign with a 6-0 victory over Slovakia. Their form continues to be maintained in recent friendly matches.
The team that has been 4 times world champion is owning a streak of 8 consecutive wins in all competitions with a dominant total score of 27-5. After defeating Switzerland and Ghana in March, Germany continued to show strength with a 4-0 victory over Finland in the most recent match.
Under Nagelsmann's leadership, Germany not only regained its identity but also showed a balance between experience and youth. This helps them to be considered one of the formidable candidates at the 2026 World Cup.
Head-to-head history also partially supports the European team. Germany has won 5 out of 7 recent encounters with the US and will enter the match with a confident attitude.
Personnel situation
The US team is likely to be without defender Chris Richards as this player is still having ankle problems. The center-back from Crystal Palace missed the victory against Senegal and has only been training separately in recent days.
Pochettino is currently facing a choice between returning to the four-defender formation or continuing to use the three-center-back system that has operated quite effectively in the most recent match.
On the German side, Deniz Undav helped fans breathe a sigh of relief when he did not suffer serious injuries after leaving the field early in the 4-0 victory over Finland. This striker shone with a double and an assist before being substituted, but is likely to be kept by Nagelsmann to avoid unnecessary risks.
In goal, Manuel Neuer has not fully recovered from his calf injury. Therefore, Oliver Baumann is expected to continue to start.
Expected lineup:
Turner, Freeman, Ream, McKenzie, Dest, McKennie, Adams, Robinson, Reyna, Pepi, Pulisic.
Baumann, Kimmich, Tah, Schotterbeck, Brown, Goretzka, Pavlovic, Karl, Wirtz, Leweling, Woltemade.
The match between the US and Germany takes place at 1:30 am on June 7 (Vietnam time).
