On Saturday, the United States men's national team will play one of their highest profile friendlies under Gregg Berhalter, welcoming Julian Naglesmann's Germany to Hartford Connecticut in what should be an exciting game. Berhalter will be without a few key players as Tyler Adams and Antonee Robinson will miss the squad, but that can offer an opportunity for other members of the side. Kristoffer Lund could step in for Robinson while uncapped player Lennard Maloney will be one of the many players being watched in the race to see who can backup Adams.
Maloney plays in midfield for newly promoted Heidenheim in the Bundesliga but did play briefly for the United States youth sides in the past. Without a true six on the roster outside of him, this could be quite an opportunity especially as he faces a few members of Germany's squad week in and week out. With many Americans currently in the Bundesliga like Brenden Aaronson, Keven Paredes, Gio Reyna, and Joe Scally, along with others having come through the league in the past, there is a lot of familiarity, but they will endtr an unknown with what should be expected under Nagelsmann.
Given that, here's how to watch and a few things to look out for in the match:
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How to watch and odds
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 14 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
- Location: Pratt & Whitney Stadium -- East Hartford, Connecticut
- TV: TNT | Live stream: fubo (try for free)
- Odds: United States +290; Draw +260; Germany -127 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Wing backs will be key
In the past, Berhalter has spoken about how fullbacks are the superpower of his team and that remains the case. The issue is that Germany will also utilize attacking fullbacks in the match making the USMNT's job in defending them quite hard. Sergino Dest already prefers to get forward on the right, and without Robinson in the squad, Lund's defensive credentials will be tested. He got forward quite a lot against Oman in his last appearance on the team, but this is a game where if he gets caught out in defense, Germany will score quite a few goals.
Matt Turner will likely be under pressure in defense no matter what happens, but defensively this is the toughest test that the USMNT has faced since they drew with England in the group stage of the World Cup last year, and they won't have Tyler Adams to shield the side from attacks. A lot of the match will be seeing the difference between the USMNT at the World Cup compared to this group and the defense will be one of the bigger ones to keep an eye on.
How is Reyna reintegrated?
A lot has been made of Berhalter and Reyna's relationship and while Berhalter has said that the duo are working things out, what matters more than anything is how the coach can get one of his most talented players in the side to show that talent on the pitch. The best way to put the past behind them is if Reyna is able to score a few goals, but the issue is that Reyna has only seen the pitch for 26 minutes since the Nations League final in June of 2023.
"Our goal is that he leaves this camp in a good spot to continue his development at Dortmund and that's really important to us," Berhalter said about Reyna's fitness. We're aware of his loading in these last months, we're aware of his game time in these last months and for us, it's similar to [Folarin] Balo[gun] how we want to put him in a good position for when he goes back so that he can get on the field making an impact for Dortmund."
Like Balogun in the last international window, Berhalter has to work on Reyna's fitness and ensuring that he isn't injured before returning to Dortmund. Berhalter has recognized that Reyna will be used in multiple roles during this camp which is only a good thing for Reyna. It would be great for him to get at least 60 minutes in each match, but that just isn't a realistic proposition at this stage.
Keep the match close
The USMNT hasn't lost a match by three or more goals since 2019 when Mexico and Venezuela both defeated the USMNT 3-0 in back to back matches. It would be quite a detractor to their progress if the team got defeated by three goals in their toughest challenge since the World Cup, when being able to hang with teams like Germany is what needs to become the new normal for the USMNT. They'll need to be able to hang with good teams to show that they can be competitive in Copa America facing the likes of Argentina and Brazil, and it's also what will be needed to get past the last 16 in World Cup play.
"We want to get a result in the match. There's no question about it, that's why we play these games. We play these games to win so that's what we're going to be focused on," Berhalter said when asked how important he feels it is to get a result in the match. "Big picture-wise, for the coaching staff, it's about the process and we go about doing it. For us, it's important that we play our game and win and not just win the game so there's going to be a lot of interesting dynamics happening in the game tomorrow. "
The talent level in the pool has risen by the day, and will only continue to do so as American teams continue to improve at developing talented soccer players, but it's up to the coaching staff to get the most out of those players.
