USMNT vs. Germany – Preview and match history

As part of the long-term strategic plan to prepare for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the four-time World Cup champion U.S. Men’s National Team will face four-time World Cup champion Germany in an international friendly match. Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut will host the game on Saturday, October 14 at 3pm ET (TNT, Telemundo, Peacock, FDP Radio).

The United States, ranked 11th in the FIFA rankings, enters the match unbeaten in 13 matches. The team has not lost since its 2-1 defeat against Serbia on January 25.

The Americans achieved two clean-sheet friendly victories, beating Uzbekistan on September 9, 3-0, and then Oman, 4-0, three days later.

In their second match of the September international window, the USA will host Ghana in another friendly in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday, October 17, while the Germans will travel to Philadelphia to face Mexico the same night.

Football history

Germany helped define international football, producing some of the most famous teams, players and moments in history while winning the World Cup four times.

Some of the best players in the world starred in that European team, including Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, former NFL coach Jurgen Klinsmann, and Lothar Matthäus, among others. Like West Germany in the 1954 World Cup, the team overcame an early two-goal deficit to defeat Ferenc Puskas and the national team. Magical Hungarians Hungary 3-2 to win their first World Cup. As hosts of the 1974 tournament, the West Germans recovered from another early deficit to record a 2–1 win over Johan Cruyff and the Netherlands. They returned to the winners’ podium in 1990, beating Diego Maradona and Argentina in the Italia 90 final, 1-0, with Andreas Brehme scoring an 85th-minute penalty.

In Brazil in 2014, Germany became the first European team to win the World Cup in South America, beating Argentina and Lionel Messi to the title, with a score of 1-0, with Mario Götze scoring the winning goal in the 113th minute. Since then, the Germans have failed to qualify for the rounds. Elimination in the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

Germany also won the European Championship three times – 1972, 1980, 1996, and won the Confederations Cup in 2017.

USMNT vs. Germany

The United States has a 4-7-0 record against Germany in many memorable results. The two teams met for the first time in the US Cup in Chicago on June 13, 1993, with the European team winning 4-3. Karlheinz Riedel scored a hat-trick, and Jurgen Klinsmann added one goal for the Germans. Thomas Dooley scored a brace and Ernie Stewart added a goal for the United States. In 1998 they met in the World Cup for the first time in Paris, France. Germany won 2-0 on 15 June 1998, behind goals from Andreas Müller and Klinsmann. In one of Bruce Arena’s early matches as USMNT coach, the Americans earned their first win in the series with a 3-0 friendly win in Jacksonville, Florida on February 6, 1999, with Jovan Kirovski, Toni Sane and Claudio Reyna scoring the goals. Within 10 minutes of the first half.

In what is likely the most famous encounter between the two teams, Germany won 1-0 in the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup in Ulsan, South Korea. Michael Ballack scored the only goal in the 39th minute. Torsten Frings had a goal-line shot saved with his hand by current USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter. No violation was called. The United States stunned the Germans with a 4-3 win in a friendly match in Washington, D.C. at RFK Stadium in the American Football Centenary Celebration match on June 2, 2013, with Clint Dempsey scoring a brace. Jozy Altidore added another tally and the visitors scored an own goal.

In the third World Cup encounter between the two teams, Germany won 1-0 in the group stage in Recife, Brazil on June 26, 2014, thanks to a 55th-minute goal by Thomas Müller. In their last match, Bobby Wood scored in the 87th minute to lead the United States to a 2-0 win. -1 in Cologne, Germany on June 10, 2015, Germany. Mario Götze put the hosts ahead, but Mix Diskerud equalized in the 41st minute.

Recent matches

Germany has struggled to reach a 2-4-1 result in seven friendly matches this year, despite six matches at home. The team started 2023 on an upbeat note, thrashing Peru 2-0, behind Niklas Volkrug’s brace in Mainz on 25 March. Three days later, the Germans lost 3-2 to Belgium in Cologne, as did Volkrug and Serge Gnabry. Scored.

June was not kind to the Germans, as they finished winless with a score of 0-2-1. They drew with Ukraine 3-3 in Bremen on June 12, and escaped with a draw, courtesy of a penalty kick by Joshua Kimmich one minute into second-half stoppage time. Volkrug and Kai Havertz scored. They were then shut down twice within a four-day period. The first match was a 1-0 loss to Poland in Warsaw, on 16 June, and the second match was a 2-0 defeat to Colombia in Gelsenkirchen on 20 June.

The winless streak reached five games in a 4-1 loss to Japan in Wolfsburg on September 9. Leroy Sane scored the equalizer in the first half, but the Asian team scored twice late in the match to withdraw. Germany broke the skid with a 2-1 win over France in Dortmund on September 12, scoring early and late. Thomas Mueller scored in the fourth minute and Sane in the 87th minute.

boss

At 36 years old, Julian Nagelsmann is one of the youngest national team coaches in the game. On September 22, he was appointed to succeed Hansi Flick. Nagelsmann also became the second-youngest national team coach in German history (Otto Nierz was the youngest, at 34, when he was appointed in 1926). Nagelsmann, will make his international coaching debut against the USMNT.

Nagelsmann became the youngest coach in Bundesliga history when he took over at Hoffenheim in 2016 at the age of 28. He managed the club until 2018, finishing third in the league and reaching the Champions League. He was appointed head coach of RB Leipzig in 2018, where he led the team to the Champions League semi-finals, losing to Paris Saint-Germain, 3-0. After leading Leipzig to the German Cup final in 2021, Nagelsmann has been appointed head coach at Bayern Munich. He led Bayern to the 2022 German League title before being sacked last March.

As a centre-back, Nagelsmann played for FC Ising, Augsburg and Munich 1860.

existing

In his first call-up as head coach, Julian Nagelsmann named 26 players for the two friendlies. Most of the roster is local and includes 19 players from Bundesliga teams.

Bayern Munich is the most represented team with five players, followed by Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen with four players each.

Fans should be familiar with Bayern Munich striker Thomas Müller, who scored the winner in the 1-0 win over the USA in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup. Müller, the team’s oldest player at 34, is also the top scorer with 45 goals in 123 matches. International.

American striker Gio Reyna, who plays for Borussia Dortmund, will face four members of his club’s squad – defenders Mats Hummels and Niklas Süle, midfielder Julian Brandt and striker Niklas Volkrug.

Volkrug has scored seven goals in nine international matches, including four this year.

Barcelona midfielder Ilkay Gundogan (17 goals in 69 matches) is the team’s captain.

Midfielder Florian Wirtz, 20, is the youngest player on the team.

Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Robert Andrich, Stuttgart winger Chris Fuhrich and Union Berlin striker Kevin Behrens are preparing to make their international debut.

In an unusual move, Nagelsmann decided to bring four goalkeepers to the United States. Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen has the most experience in defense, having participated in 36 matches.

List details

Goalkeepers (4): Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim; 0/0), Bernd Leno (Fulham/England; 9/0), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona/Spain; 36/0), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt; 7/0).

Defenders (7): Robin Gosens (Union Berlin; 18/2), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund; 76/5), David Raum (RB Leipzig; 18/2), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid/Spain; 62/2), Niklas Süle ( Borussia Dortmund; 47/1), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen; 17/0), Malik Thiaw (Milan/Ita; 2/0)

Midfielders (10): Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen; 0/0), Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund; 3/44), Chris Fuhrich (Stuttgart; 0/0), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich; 14/45), Pascal Gross (Brighton/England) . 2.0), Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona/Spain; 2/0), Jonas Hofmann (Bayer Leverkusen; 22/4), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich; 80/6), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich; 23/1), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen; 10/0)

Strikers (5): Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich; 55/13), Kevin Behrens (Union Berlin; 0/0), Niklas Volkrug (Borussia Dortmund; 9/7), Kai Havertz (Arsenal/England; 39/13), Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich .;123/45)