Team USA’s unsung hero has the team poised to make historic World Cup run as it wraps up group play
As the U.S. Men’s National Team continues its exciting run through the group stages of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, many familiar names have stepped up their game to help the team earn back-to-back wins in the tournament for the first time since 1930.
Coincidentally, the 1930 team was the last team to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup, and if America wants to reach those heights again, they will have to rely on more than just their key players to get there.
Team USA celebrates scoring a goal against Paraguay during their 2026 FIFA World Cup Group D match at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. (Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images)
Guys like Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun are well known to most football fans, but one name that wasn’t talked about much until recently was midfielder Malik Tillman.
The 24-year-old has plenty of big-game experience playing in Europe’s top-flight leagues for PSV and Bayer Leverkusen, but Tillman has kicked his game into another gear in the first two games of the USMNT’s 2026 World Cup journey.
Tillman’s stunning assist in the United States’ 4-1 rout of Paraguay symbolized their arrival as a force to be reckoned with in this year’s tournament, but it goes beyond the stat sheets.
US forward Malik Tillman reacts after scoring in the first half of the group stage match at the 2025 Gold Cup at PayPal Park. (Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images)
The German-American sensation was all over the pitch in both group stage matches, displaying flashy back passes and confidence well beyond his years.
It’s not an exaggeration to say Tillman is the best player on the USMNT, and you could make the argument that he’s the best player in the tournament so far.
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This isn’t just hot air and talk of American “homerism”; Advanced analysis also supports this.
According to Gradient Sports, Tillman was the highest-rated player of the entire group stage after two matches.
If you thought Tillman shined brighter on your screen than anyone else in America’s games against Paraguay and Australia, your eyes were not deceiving you.
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Tillman will be an integral part of the USMNT’s plans to advance through the knockout stages of the tournament.
I would say he needs to take his game to an even higher level, but I’m not sure that’s possible given what we’ve seen.
He has literally been almost perfect and if he can continue his great play in midfield, there is no limit to what this American team can do.
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Sebastian Berhalter and Giovanni Reyna of the United States celebrate their win during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Group D match against Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium on June 12, 2026 in Inglewood, California. (Jared C. Tilton/FIFA via Getty Images)
Manager Mauricio Pochettino has ensured that the United States team is playing at a level few American fans have seen in their collective lives, and one of the unsung heroes of this whole operation is Tillman.
Appreciate what you see from this USMNT.
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This is a squad firing on all cylinders, featuring a bunch of quality players in the prime of their careers.
Cherish it, because who knows when we’ll see it again?
