SAN JOSE — Malik Tillman, the 23 year old German-American, is soft spoken, but his postgame look spoke volumes.
“You see he took his hair out?” his teammate Chris Richards pointed out after their U.S. team put five past a Trinidad & Tobago side to snap a four game losing streak. “He’s definitely feeling good about himself today.”
Of those, Tillman scored two. His first on international duty after 20 appearances. Most of which saw him stuck behind the likes of Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah and Gio Reyna. So after coming into the Gold Cup wearing tight braids, he decided it was time to release the pressure and let it hang free — afro in all.
“I mean I had a good season at PSV, so my confidence is quite high,” Tillman said. “But also, I got an opportunity today to show what I can do. In my time here, I haven’t had a lot of starts.”
Mauricio Pochettino, without his top stars and facing a must-win situation, entrusted the young playmaker as his creative fulcrum, slotting him into the starting lineup as the number 10. The Eindhoven man, who tallied 12 goals and 2 assists last season in the Eredivisie, rewarded his manager’s faith by going the full distance.
Both goals came off turnovers near the opposition’s box. The first came on the far post after Tillman found himself at the end of a Jack McGlynn inswinger that was a result of Patrick Ageymang taking the ball off a hapless Alvin Jones. The second, a simple tap-in after the left back Isaiah Garcia mistakenly played a ball back to Diego Luna, who ran free on goal.
With Trinidad playing in a low block for most of the game, the U.S. didn’t have many chances to play on the break, so instead, the team relied on combination plays and aggressive pressing to create its scoring opportunities. Often, Tillman, Luna and McGlynn would take up different positions from where they started in order to create overloads and mismatches.
The U.S. went up three by halftime, with Luna notably providing two assists. In the second half, substitutes Brandon Aaronson and Haji Wright added two more in the 81st and 83rd minute.
“Malik is a talented player, that’s obvious for everyone to see,” Pochettino said after the match at PayPal Park, which only drew a little more than 12,000 fans. “What changed, I think, is that I understand him better now. The first few times, in October and November, when we first met him, it was difficult to create a relationship where [we] could trust each other.”
“He’s one of the most talented players we have in the USA,” he added.
Tillman, who only learned how to speak English in the last three years, applied for his one-time switch to play for the United States in 2022. At that time, he had played for the German under-21s and was still a Bayern Munich reserve player, where he met Richards.
“He’s just so quiet, so I didn’t know what to make of him at first,” Richards said. “But once you get to know him, he’s a big teddy bear. It’s been really cool to see him go from a forward to more of a midfield role and embrace it. I’m really excited for him. He’s really found his footing on the international level but also at PSV.”
Still, it will be hard to say that the U.S. have truly turned a corner since Trinidad were so poor on the day. The visitors had zero shots on goal in the first half and ceded more than 80% possession to the hosts. Jones, who scored against the Americans in 2017 to sink their World Cup hopes that year, was liable for multiple scoring chances.
Absent midfielders Tyler Adams and Johnny Cardoso, who were projected to start leading into the tournament, Pochettino chose Luca de la Torre and Sebastian Berhalter, who made his first competitive cap. Of note, NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese got the nod over incumbent Matt Turner in goal.
Alex Freeman, who is in the midst of a rookie year breakout with Orlando City SC, also impressed at right back with his discipline and awareness. The 20-year-old son of former NFL wide receiver Antonio Freeman almost tallied an assist in the 32nd minute and nearly scored off a header two minutes later.
“This is the bare minimum now,” Luna said of the 5-0 performance.
The U.S. will travel to Austin, Texas next to take on Saudi Arabia and will round out their group stage play against Haiti in Arlington on June 22.
About the Author: Kevin V. Nguyen is a business and sports journalist based in the Bay Area. Follow him on X/Twitter @KevinNguyen_89 or on Bluesky @kevinvnguyen.bsky.social
