By OkayGoal 
The U.S. men’s national team’s FIFA World Cup send-off did not end in victory, but it did end with head coach Mauricio Pochettino and his players proud of their effort against No. 10-ranked Germany.
Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Germans at Chicago’s Soldier Field marked the Americans’ third loss of 2026 in four matches. Still, the effort they delivered in front of 63,636 fans was a positive sign for the squad, especially after conceding the opening goal to Kai Havertz less than two minutes into the match.
Antonee Robinson’s wonder-strike leveled things for the Americans before halftime, however, Leroy Sane’s second-half finish would be the deciding goal in the match.
The USMNT dictated the tempo for large periods of the match and had plenty of positive opportunities in the final third, albeit couldn’t sneak a second effort past Oliver Baumann. With the USMNT’s World Cup schedule now set to get underway on June 12 against Paraguay, Pochettino and midfielder Tyler Adams both feel the excitement surrounding the team.
“Maybe my expectation, or my mistake, was expecting the excitement around the U.S. team a year and a half ago to be what it is today,” Pochettino said in his prematch press conference. “That was probably my mistake. We had to build that excitement again. When we started this journey towards the World Cup a year and a half ago, maybe we expected too much too soon. But now you can really feel it.”
“Yeah, incredible,” Adams said postmatch to media. “This is what you kind of wish for no matter if it’s a sendoff game or a regular game. These are the atmospheres we need. I mean, obviously Chicago’s an unreal sport city and they love football, but it’s incredible to be sent off like that with fans that are so passionate about the game.”
The USMNT didn’t hang their heads after Havertz’s go-ahead header in the second minute, fighting for every loose ball and 50-50. Christian Pulisic delivered a few exciting moments with the ball at his feet while Folarin Balogun and Sergino Dest also did their best to try and set up their teammates in the final third.
Pochettino made ample changes to his squad in the second half with every outfield player earning minutes except for Haji Wright and Alex Zendejas. Sebastian Berhalter, Gio Reyna, and Tim Weah were among the players trying to find a late equalizer, but unfortunately couldn’t as the USMNT finished second-best on the afternoon.
Despite the loss, the USMNT fought with Germany for 90+ minutes and easily could’ve walked away with the win, showing another sign that they are ready for the World Cup’s bright lights.
“To see how we react,” Pochettino said. “To see how we show character, show togetherness and play under pressure — in that moment [of Havertz’s goal] I was upset, of course, but it was good for us to see the reaction of the team. The reaction was amazing.”
“There’s a lot of good to take away,” Jedi Robinson said on TNT’s broadcast. “It was the worst possible start to concede early but the game evened up after we scored. Games like this you want to get the win, but we’re taking a lot of positives away.”