'He's a baller': USMNT's Malik Tillman seizing opportunity at Gold Cup

Tillman's soccer journey began in Germany, where he was raised a dual national by his German mother and American father. He joined Bayern Munich's development program at a young age, alongside defender Richards, and the two were paired together from the start. The Bayern team thought the Americans might help one another assimilate, but Nuremberg-born Tillman and Alabama-born Richards had little to say to each other at first.

"When I first met him, he didn't speak any English," Richards said with a smile, per Doug McIntyre for Fox Sports. "Now he's playing for the national team. It's really amazing to not just see him develop as a player, but as a person.

"He's a baller."

Tillman, 23,  has shown his skills at the club level since joining Dutch club PSV in 2023. He scored an incredible extra-time Champions League brace against Ukraine's Dynamo Kyiv and racked up 21 goals and 12 assists for PSV in his first two seasons. 

When measured against his peers in Europe's top leagues, he's in the 99th percentile for non-penalty goals, 99th percentile for shots and 99th percentile for progressive passes. Richards is right. Tillman is a baller.

For all his skill at the club level, though, Tillman has struggled to break through with the USMNT, so this Gold Cup is his coming-out party. According to USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino, Tillman just needed time. 

"What changed, I think, is I understand [him] better," Pochettino said recently. "The first few times — October, November, when we met — it was difficult to create this relationship that the player needs and the coach needs to trust and to trust each other.

"I see now, after a few weeks together, I really start to understand him, and he starts to understand us. He is very special."

Tillman is a shining example of why tournaments like the Gold Cup matter for the USMNT. The international schedule is choppy and inconsistent and players get precious few opportunities to build trust with their coaches. This Gold Cup — a monthlong, high-stakes tournament that sequesters American players with Pochettino for multiple weeks — is incredible for developing the sort of understanding that unlocked Tillman's potential. Skipping it for personal reasons, as star attacker Christian Pulisic has, feels like a waste. 

The "B-team" players who took this opportunity are growing athletically, and they're coming for the starting positions of Pulisic and midfielder Yunus Musah in the USMNT's best 11.

Tillman, a versatile attacker, is in competition for Gio Reyna's starting spot — and many USMNT pundits believe he's snatched it with his three-goal performance in the group stage of the Gold Cup. 

Tillman and the USMNT will return to Gold Cup action with a must-win quarterfinal against Costa Rica on Sunday (June 29) in Minneapolis.