Latest news with #MalikTillman
Fox Sports
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
USA vs. Saudi Arabia live updates, score: U.S. men's team eyes Gold Cup win
Gold Cup Updated: Jun 19, 2025 - 9:33 PM ET The 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup continues on Thursday with the United States men's national team playing Saudi Arabia in a Group D clash in Austin, Texas at 9:15 p.m. ET on Fox. The USMNT started off the Gold Cup with a 5-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday, in which Malik Tillman scored twice. Saudi Arabia, who is appearing as an invited team for the tournament, defeated Haiti 1-0 in its opening match. Follow along for the game's best moments and highlights: Live Coverage for this began on 9:30p ET recommended Get more from Gold Cup Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Newsweek
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
How to Watch Saudi Arabia vs United States: Live Stream CONCACAF Gold Cup, TV Channel
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The USMNT and Saudi Arabia will face off on Thursday night at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, in the group stage of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, and you can catch all the action with FuboTV. Malik Tillman #17 of the United States passes the ball during a game between Jamaica and USMNT at National Stadium on November 14, 2024, in Kingston, Jamaica. Malik Tillman #17 of the United States passes the ball during a game between Jamaica and USMNT at National Stadium on November 14, 2024, in Kingston, Jamaica. John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF How to Watch Saudi Arabia vs United States Date: Thursday, June 19, 2025 Time: 9:15 PM EDT Channel: FOX Sports 1 Stream: Fubo (Try for free) Both clubs won their opening matches of the tournament, placing them in first and second place in Group D, with the United States holding the tiebreaker due to a better goal differential. That means a win or draw on Thursday would keep the USMNT in front. The USMNT was dominant in its Gold Cup opener against Trinidad and Tobago, winning 5-0. PSV midfielder Malik Tillman led the way for the United States as he scored a pair of goals. Patrick Agyemang of Charlotte FC, Brenden Aaronson of Leeds United and Haji Wright of Coventry City also scored goals for the Americans. The United States last won this tournament in 2021, winning all six games it played in the tournament. In 2023, the USMNT finished fourth in the Gold Cup. Saudi Arabia won 1-0 against Haiti. The club's lone goal came via a 21st-minute penalty kick from Al-Ittihad striker Saleh Al-Shehri. The Saudi team is this year's guest at the Gold Cup, and it is the first time that they have played in this tournament. Start your FuboTV free trial now to get started watching. Live stream Saudi Arabia vs United States on Fubo: Start your free trial now! Regional restrictions may apply. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.
New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Malik Tillman: My game in my words
This article is part of our My Game In My Words 2025 series, an exclusive set of interviews with USMNT players where they talk us through how they do what they do on a soccer pitch. Malik Tillman arrived to U.S. men's national team camp this summer with quiet confidence — emphasis on the quiet. As he sat down in the lobby of The Peninsula hotel in Chicago in early June, the German-American attacking midfielder spoke barely above a whisper. The 23-year-old was coming off of yet another strong season for PSV in the Netherlands' top division: 15 goals and four assists across all competitions. Advertisement Tillman had yet to translate that form to the international stage, however. He was determined to change that narrative. 'I've been struggling a lot for the U.S. team, so for me, it's about showing the real me,' Tillman says. 'Showing the people here what I can do. Because I know I have a lot of qualities and I know I'm a good player, but I haven't shown it for this team yet. So if it comes to scoring goals, giving assists, fighting for the team, showing the right mentality — just all in all, showing myself.' He has started well on those aims. Tillman followed a strong outing in a friendly against Turkey with two goals against Trinidad & Tobago in the Gold Cup opener. On Sunday, U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino called Tillman 'one of the most talented players that we have in the USA.' Pochettino chalked it up to the player and coach having a better understanding of each other. Tillman has also become a more well-rounded player over the past four years, with experiences in Germany, Scotland and Holland all rounding out different elements of his game. This latest iteration might be the product of a simple wager with PSV assistant head coach Rob Maas. Tillman scored in the first game of the 2024-25 season: home against RKC Waalwijk. Tillman backpedaled into space between RKC's lines, then turned and dribbled at the back line… The two centre-backs receded towards their own box rather than stepping towards Tillman… Allowing Tillman space to set himself from distance and curl a shot into the top corner to give PSV a 3-0 lead. Up until that point of his career, scoring from outside the box had never really been a part of Tillman's repertoire. Growing up at Greuther Fürth and then Bayern Munich's youth academies, Tillman was a forward who often found his goals inside the area. As he had floated further back into midfield, he had picked passes from the top of the box more than he picked out corners of the goal. His 10 league assists for PSV in 2023-24 indicated as much. Advertisement But before last season, Tillman sat down with Maas and was offered a wager. If he hit a certain number of goals and assists, there would be a prize. Goals from distance counted double. That little sweetener stuck somewhere in the back of Tillman's brain. He swears it wasn't a conscious decision, but that first game he finished cleanly from 20 yards. And then it happened again. And again. 'Maybe this plays a part,' Tillman whispered of the wager, a cheeky grin spreading across his face as I pulled up yet another clip of another goal from distance. This one came against Heracles in May and it was off a set piece design. By now, Tillman's accuracy from distance had been established. 'We analyze our games,' Tillman said. 'So the game before this one, we had a short corner, and we didn't play all the way through to me, but we trusted from the edge of the box. My team-mates know that I have a good shot, so they know if there's a possibility to play to me, you can always play to me. 'What's going on in my mind is, I look for the spaces. I talked to the assistant who does our set pieces. He told me to be a little bit behind the guy who has the ball first, so I can see what's coming from the other side and if I have the space or not. 'And in this case, I saw I have the space, took a touch… … and then just let it fly.' A month earlier against Groningen, Tillman found himself in what is becoming his favorite spot on the field: right on the edge of Zone 13 and Zone 14, on the left side of the box. Tillman has a good relationship with PSV's No 10, Noa Lang. 'We often train this, I drop back down, he plays me and I turn and finish,' Tillman said. This time, though, Lang's pass missed him… Tillman said he's not sure if that was the intent, but when he turned, Ismael Saibari dropped a one-touch pass back for Tillman to run onto it for a first-time finish, again curling it inside the upper corner of the far post. Finding this aspect of his game is a new phenomenon in games, but Tillman said he 'always had a good shot.' It started back with Bayern's under-19s and second team, and when he initially got the dream call from coaches to join the first team in training. Its base is located in a different area than where the academy trains, so Tillman headed to a new part of town and tried not to show his nerves too much when he walked into the dressing room for the first time. Advertisement 'We've done a lot of finishing with the first team and the second team,' Tillman said. 'Because I played striker with the under-19s, just a lot of this helps. It's about being consistent in training and then maybe develop some new techniques, how you can shoot, how you can strike a ball, when to do what. It's about practicing every day. At least be consistent with what you do.' That first goal of the season showed how all those training sessions were starting to click in matches. 'In games, I just never had the confidence to shoot,' Tillman said. 'And then, first game of the season, I scored. And since then, it took off.' It certainly helps — Tillman and PSV — that he consistently outperformed his expected goals (xG) last season, as shown in the data visualisation below. As for the wager? Tillman said he didn't hit the mark. He chalked it up to an ankle injury this season that cost him three months. No prize had yet been determined — though PSV would likely consider Tillman's newfound eye for goal a nice reward. We took a pause from Tillman's goals from distance for a few minutes — but we'll get to the favorite goal of his career — to study some other areas of his game. Namely, under PSV's Peter Bosz, Tillman has become a more diligent defender. It's a bit funny, in that Bosz's teams are known for being open and attack-minded, and yet they require the attacking players to press often in order to create those chances. 'The games that I played in midfield, I feel like I always had my chances to press and then it was only about the intensity,' Tillman said. 'I knew I have to press, (but) then sometimes I just went because I have to. But then you're having to realize that you really have to show intensity while pressing. It makes it easier for the whole team to get the ball. So if one guy does it, then the whole team pushes with you. So it makes it easier for a lot of us, and it makes our game easier. We have the ball more.' Advertisement Tillman's schooling in defensive responsibilities really started when he was 20 and spent a year on loan at Rangers. Scottish football was a baptism by fire and he realized quickly he was going to have to adapt. 'I don't know what minute it was (in his first game, against Livingston), but I got tackled like never in my life before and since,' Tillman said. 'And (thought), 'Yeah, OK, this is a tough league.'' Those lessons translated well to his understanding of how to press and how to read passes, which led to an assist against Heracles in May. 'We analyzed the teams that we play, so we knew that their six was gonna drop a little bit sometimes during the game,' Tillman said. 'That's what he did in this case. 'And then it's about us being tight in the back, and then not not letting them (play) — I mean, if you play through the center, it's always dangerous — and then you have to anticipate sometimes. And in this case, it happened to be me. 'I'm also quite good at anticipating passes, and from the way he moves, you know he's gonna play him. So that's, for me, the trigger to try to step ahead of him.' Tillman's alertness helped PSV turn over possession and the ball fell to Joey Veerman, who flicked it into the American's path… And he slid a pass through for Saibari to put PSV 2-0 up. They went on to win that game 4-1, with Tillman scoring twice in addition to providing that assist. It's an area you can sense is becoming something Tillman values more — or sees the value in more. 'At Rangers I think I was one of the guys who had the most recoveries,' Tillman said. 'I would say Rangers taught me also a lot in this case. At PSV, I press higher up the pitch, we score from it. It makes it easier for me to press if it helps the team and it makes me more satisfied if something comes from it, as well.' Advertisement The pressing helps, but so does Tillman's vision. While he had just four assists this past season for PSV, he had 14 the previous one. He enjoys picking out a pass and likes to pull out the tricks every once in a while — though not as much as his U.S. and PSV teammate Sergiño Dest. 'He likes to humiliate people,' Tillman says with a smile. Tillman has also found a steady goal-scoring teammate in U.S. partner Ricardo Pepi, who remains out this summer with a knee injury but was in red-hot form for PSV this season before the setback. Tillman said he would adjust in games based on whether he was playing with Luuk de Jong or Pepi. 'I think the whole world knows that Luuk is not the fastest,' Tillman said. 'So play him in his feet. He can hold the ball really good. And you can play one-twos with him really good. If anyone plays we have movements behind his back, or be there for the bounce pass. 'And then with Pepi, he can also hold the ball really good, you can also play one-twos with him really good. But he also has the runs in behind. Pepi is just a top finisher. So if you play him, you know he's gonna shoot. If you play him in a good space and he has a little bit of time where he can find the right shot, then it's probably a goal, or at least a big chance for us. So, in my head, I feel like it's just more or less the runs in behind, and the movement off the ball is different when you play with Pepi and with De Jong.' PSV was down 2-0 to Shakhtar Donetsk in the 87th minute in the Champions League when Tillman set up for the free kick. He had a look at what was in front of him. Hope was dwindling. But a window was there. I queue up the video. As he begins his approach on my computer screen, Tillman tells me to hold the video. 'If you go back, you can see there's one guy here as well,' Tillman said. 'Then those guys (are) telling me, 'Go play first post.' I wanted to shoot to be honest. 'If you see the goalie here, he's off the line. And if there is enough pace, the ball is wet, the pitch is wet, so it's not that easy to really catch it. 'I just thought, 'Why not go for it? You're two-nil down, the game's almost over. If it's on target, it's good. Maybe it bounces back or whatever.'' The attempt, somehow, found the back of the net. PSV was back in the game. But Tillman's heroics weren't finished. Three minutes later, he scored again. Those goals from distance were back. Tillman belted an absolute rocket of a right-footed shot to level the game, the goal that registers as his personal favorite. PSV went on to win, 3-2, with Pepi scoring five minutes into second-half stoppage time. Tillman's equalizer was a decidedly Concacaf goal. American Richy Ledezma served in a cross that was cleared, but not well enough. It fell to Mexico's Chucky Lozano, whose shot was blocked. The rebound came to Tillman, who had been playing as a No 6 in the game and so was a solid 10 yards outside the box. He took a touch to bring the ball under his spell. 'This second touch, then I knew, 'Yeah, OK, I can go for it,'' Tillman said. 'As I said before, it's about confidence. If I had this last season, I would probably never shoot in my life. But this season I happened to have the confidence to shoot. So why not shoot?' Tillman let rip. 'As soon as I touch the ball I know if it's good or not,' Tillman said. So what was going through his head this time as he made contact? 'It's a banger, honestly,' Tillman said. The whisper in his voice is gone. Tillman is smiling fully. He is enjoying the moment again. As I ask him to think back to the moment — the hit, the noise, the implications, the hairs stand up on his arm. I ask him what he would tell a 12-year-old about what this moment felt like. 'Goosebumps, honestly,' Tillman said. 'It's the best feeling you can have. If you're into football, if you want to be a football player, then this is the best feeling ever. To help your team score a goal, having people scream for you, people screaming your name, teammates celebrating with you, friends celebrating with you. Advertisement 'So yes, it's the best feeling. It's goosebumps.' American fans — and Tillman — will hope to see him have those types of moments with a U.S. crest on his shirt. This summer, sure. But, more importantly, next year when the U.S. co-hosts the World Cup. The My Game in My Words series is sponsored by the Active Cash Visa® Credit Card from Wells Fargo. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Top illustration: Eamonn Dalton/The Athletic; Doug Zimmerman/ISI Photos, Erin Chang/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)
New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
How to watch the USMNT vs. Saudi Arabia in Concacaf Gold Cup group play
Group D stood for 'dominant' in the United States men's national team Gold Cup opener. The Americans kicked off their Concacaf tournament hopes last weekend with a 5-0 defeat of Trinidad and Tobago. Up next is a Thursday showdown against Saudi Arabia, coming to us live from the capital of the Lone Star State. Advertisement International streaming via Concacaf GO. Sunday's result marked a rare wire-to-wire win for Mauricio Pochettino's side. The USMNT entered that match with consecutive June losses to Switzerland and Turkey in international friendlies. Before that, it fell to Canada and Panama in the Concacaf Nations League. There was immense catharsis in the trouncing of Trinidad and Tobago: three first-half scores, nearly 70 percent possession and a massive 22-to-3 shot advantage. Malik Tillman found the back of the net twice, as he notched the inaugural goals of his international career. Patrick Agyemang continued to show out in attack. Diego Luna looked confident with a pair of assists. Matthew Freese had a much-needed clean sheet. Good vibes all around. Thursday's opponent is certainly tougher, though. Saudi Arabia is ranked No. 58 in the FIFA men's world rankings, compared to Trinidad and Tobago at 100th. If it feels strange to see a gulf nation in the North American-Caribbean tourney, that's because it is. This is Saudi Arabia's first appearance in the Gold Cup, which has a history of inviting guest countries. While the host nation has won seven Gold Cups, the Saudi Arabia squad just won its first-ever Concacaf tournament match. Saleh Al-Shehri's penalty conversion was the difference in the 1-0 defeat of Haiti. The new entrants have a well-traveled manager in Hervé Renard. The veteran French strategist has coached clubs in Vietnam, Zambia, Angola, Morocco and Côte d'Ivoire. In seven international faceoffs, the U.S. has a slight edge over Saudi Arabia at 3-2-2 (and a 9-8 goal advantage). Five of those matches were friendlies, and they split two Confederations Cup contests in the 1990s. The USMNT concludes Group D play against Haiti on Sunday. The team stays in Texas, driving from Austin to Arlington to play in the Dallas Cowboys' mega stadium. Saudi Arabia will head up to Las Vegas and wrap up group play against Trinidad and Tobago. The top two finishers in each group go to the knockout round. Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. (Photo of Tim Ream: Johnnie Izquierdo / Getty Images)
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
How to watch USMNT vs Saudi Arabia: Gold Cup stream link, TV channel, team news, prediction
The USMNT will try to make it two wins from two games to begin their 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup run on Thursday (9:15 pm ET), when they face Saudi Arabia at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas. MORE — Pochettino hits back at Pulisic: 'I'm the head coach' Advertisement Mauricio Pochettino's side snapped a four-game winless streak at home (first time since 1988) with a 5-0 victory over Trinidad & Tobago on Sunday, thanks in large part to two goals from Malik Tillman and a pair of assists from Diego Luna. The midfield duo played a part in each of the USMNT's first three goals, all in the first half, as they make their case not only for a spot on the 2026 World Cup but perhaps a place in the starting lineup — even when Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie are back in the mix. How to watch USMNT vs Saudi Arabia live, stream link and start time Kick off time: 9:15 pm ET, Thursday How to watch: FS1, TUDN Stream online: or the FOX Sports app USMNT focus, team news What's great about the USMNT's performance against T&T is that they scored five goals (on a very healthy 3.48 xG) while holding 70 percent of possession in the game. Almost regardless of opponent, the A-team has too often struggled to generate chances (and score them) when the opposition puts five defenders and four midfielders behind the ball. What's even better is that only four of their 21 shots were taken from outside the box, meaning they worked the ball deep into the penalty area (only 8 shots outside 12 yards) and didn't settle for speculative long-range attempts. Saudi Arabia focus, team news Saudi Arabia, the lone team in the tournament invited as a guest, beat Haiti 1-0 in their Group D opener. Al-Ittihad striker Saleh Al-Shehri scored from the penalty spot in the 21st minute. Al-Shehri is the only player in the Arabian Falcons' current squad with double-digit international goals (17). USMNT vs Saudi Arabia prediction The Saudis were quite poor with their limited possession (43 percent) against 83rd-ranked Haiti and will likely have even less to work with against the Yanks. Patience will be key again, but Luna will deliver the goods again. USMNT 3-1 Saudi Arabia.
