U.S. Men’s National Team Falls 3-1 Against Germany In International Friendly (original) (raw)

Christian Pulisic Scores 27th International Goal; Folarin Balogun Records First Assist; USMNT Continues 2026 World Cup Building Process on Tuesday, Oct. 17 vs. Ghana in Nashville (8;30 p.m. ET on TNT, Universo, Max, Peacock, Fútbol de Primera Radio)

October 14, 2023

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Hartford, Conn. (Oct. 14, 2023) – The U.S. Men’s National Team fell 3-1 against Germany in the first of two international matches this month. Team captain Christian Pulisic scored an incredible goal on a brilliant solo run before Germany rallied in front of a record sellout crowd of 37,743 at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field.

The U.S. wasted no time setting the tone as Pulisic finished off a ball over the top from McKennie in the third minute before being waived offside by a narrow margin. The USA showed defensive composure on the other end as the back line and goalkeeper Matt Turner shut down dangerous chances, all the while not shying away from attacking as Gio Reyna, Tim Weah and Pulisic led the charge pushing into the offensive third.

The Americans opened the scoring in style in the 27th minute as Balogun laid off the ball for Pulisic just past midfield. From there, the USA captain exploded on the dribble toward goal and avoided an enclosing circle of five defenders before he fired off a curling strike from 20 yards out to score a stunner in the upper right corner.

Germany then responded in the 39th minute as midfielder Leroy Sane showed off solo skills of his own, dribbling out of trouble and laying off a pass away from Turner for midfielder Ikay Gündogan, who finished with a tap-in from five yards out.

The second half started with a warning from the visitors as Turner came up with a big save to deny Gündogan from the top of the box; however, Germany then converted in quick succession. The first came in the 58th minute as Gosens did well to set up forward Niclas Füllkrug with a pass into the box which he finished with a low shot. Then in the 61st minute, an unfortunate deflection for the Americans off a defensive tackle set up Füllkrug for a pass to Musiala as he crashed into the box for a sliding finish.

Sparked by the use of all six available substitutes, the USA continued to press in the attack and came close to scoring a few times, including efforts from midfielder Yunus Musah off a corner that sailed just over the bar as well as a dangerous effort from forward Ricardo Pepi that caused trouble inside the Germany box but was ultimately cleared out of danger.

NEXT UP: The USA will close out the October window as it takes on Ghana on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at GEODIS Park in Nashville, Tenn. (8:30 p.m. ET; TNT, Universo Max, Peacock, Futbol de Primera Radio).

GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN:

USA – Christian Pulisic (Folarin Balogun), 27th minute: Balogun laid off the ball for Pulisic about 10 yards past midfield, where he explosively dribbled toward goal, avoiding an enclosing circle of five defenders, and fired a curling strike from 20 yards out to score a stunner on the upper right corner. USA 1, GER 0

GER – Ikai Gündogan (Leroy Sane), 39th minute: Sane received a long ball on the right side and did well to dribble toward the center, showing nice footwork to get out of trouble and laying off a pass for Gündogan to tap in from five yards out. USA 1, GER 1

GER – Niclas Füllkrug (Robin Gosens), 58th minute: As Germany built up in the attack, Gosens received a ball in the air near the edge of the box from the right side. From there, he settled with a one-touch pass to find Füllkrug inside the box near the penalty spot to slot home low past Turner. USA 1, GER 2

GER – Jamal Musiala (Niclas Füllkrug) 61st minute: On an individual effort in which Musiala ran around the left side and tried to dribble into the box centrally, a deflection off a defending tackle sent the ball to Füllkrug on the left, where he squared a low pass back to Musiala as he crashed into the box for a sliding finish into the back of the net. USA 1, GER 3 FINAL.

Additional Notes:

-U.S. MEN’s National team match report-

Match: U.S. Men’s National Team vs. Germany, presented by AT&T 5G
Date: October 14, 2023
Competition: International Friendly
Venue: Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field; East Hartford, Conn.
Attendance: 37,743 (sellout)
Kickoff: 3 p.m. ET
Weather: 56 degrees, rainy

Scoring Summary: 1 2 F USA 1 0 1
GER 1 2 3

USA – Christian Pulisic (Folarin Balogun) 27th minute
GER - Ilkay Gündogan 39
GER - Nicklas Füllkrug (Robin Gosens) 58
GER – Jamal Musiala (Nicklas Füllkrug) 61

Lineups: USA: 1-Matt Turner; 19-Joe Scally, 4-Chris Richards (3-Cameron Carter-Vickers, 66), 13-Tim Ream, 2-Sergiño Dest; 6-Yunus Musah, 7-Gio Reyna (14-Luca de la Torre, 46), 8-Weston McKennie (15-Johnny Cardoso, 75); 21-Tim Weah (11-Brenden Aaronson, 66), 20-Folarin Balogun (9-Ricardo Pepi, 66), 10-Christian Pulisic (Capt.) (16-Kevin Paredes, 75)
Substitutes not used: 18-Ethan Horvath, 5-DeJuan Jones, 12-Miles Robinson, 17-Alex Zendejas, 22-Lenny Maloney, 23-Kristoffer Lund Head coach: Gregg Berhalter

GER: 1-Marc André ter Stegen; 4-Jonathan Tah, 5-Mats Hummels (15-Niklas Süle, 61), 2-Antonio Rüdiger, 20-Robin Gosens; 16-Pascal Groß (8-Leon Goretzka, 70), 21-Ilkay Gündoğan (Capt.); 10-Florian Wirtz (7-Kai Havertz, 61), 14-Jamal Musiala (25-Chris Führich, 81), 19-Leroy Sané (11-Julian Brandt, 71); 9-Nicklas Füllkrug (13-Thomas Müller, 81)
Substitutes not used: 12 Kevin Trapp, 22-Bernd Leno, 3-Malick Thiaw, 17-David Raum, 18-Jonas Hofmann, 23-Robert Andrich, 24-Kevin Behrens, 26-Oliver Baumann Head coach: Julian Nagelsmann

Stats Summary: USA / GER Shots: 6 / 19
Shots on Goal: 3 / 7
Saves: 4 / 2
Corner Kicks: 7 / 4
Fouls: 3 / 11
Offside: 3 / 2

Misconduct Summary: GER – Mats Hummels (Caution) 43
USA – Yunus Musah (Caution) 56

Officials: Referee: Fernando Guerrero (MEX)
Assistant Referee 1: Pablo Hernandez (MEX)
Assistant Referee 2: Michel Morales (MEX)
4th Official: Diego Montano (MEX)

Bud Light Man of the Match: Christian Pulisic