The U.S. Men’s Team Breakout Player? Malik Tillman Rises To Gold Cup Challenge

ARLINGTON, Texas – Mauricio Pochettino smiled and shook his head in disbelief. He’s been asked about Malik Tillman quite a few times during this Gold Cup, and he’s running out of ways to say the same thing.

“It’s difficult to define him because, what a player, no?” Pochettino said. 

Tillman scored the opening goal for the U.S. men’s national team in what was ultimately a 2-1 win over Haiti to close out the group stage on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. The Americans had already clinched a spot in the knockout round last week after beating both Trinidad and Tobago and then Saudi Arabia. But winning all three games gave the squad nine points and put them at the top of Group D. 

The U.S. will recover for a week before facing Costa Rica in the quarterfinals on Sunday, June 29 in Minneapolis(7 p.m. ET on FOX).

Tillman, who has started in all three Gold Cup matches so far, scored his third goal of the tournament in the 10th minute when he headed home a right-footed cross from Brenden Aaronson.

Malik Tillman’s header gives USMNT a 1-0 lead over Haiti

“One of the scouting reports was that the back door is open,” Aaronson said. “We have quality with our wingers and are always dangerous with Jack [McGlynn], Diego [Luna] and then with me today, I just saw an overloaded back post and I just thought, ‘Yeah I’m going to hang it out back there.”

Tillman was the most entertaining part of the match and used his finesse to consistently put himself in threatening positions. He could have had more goals had those other chances not been called back in the second half. 

First, there was an unintentional handball in the 64th minute. 

Moments later, Tillman collected a pass over the back line from Tyler Adams, made a 360-degree turn, and finished only to have that goal ruled offside.

And then in the 74th minute, Tillman brought the ball down with exceptional control, but his shot went wide left. Even if it had gone in, there might have been an argument for offside.

One minute later, Patrick Agyemang scored the game-winner to give the USMNT its final 2-1 scoreline. It was his fifth goal in nine games.

“To be honest, I get frustrated,” Tillman admittedly told reporters after the game. “I don’t know if you guys can see it, but I try to keep it more inside of me and not to show it. But yeah, I’m frustrated. Even now I’m still quite disappointed. I should have scored at least one more.”

It’s taken some time for Tillman to find his confidence and just get into a groove on the international stage. While he scored 16 goals in 34 appearances for PSV Eindhoven last season, he had never found the back of the net for the USMNT before the Gold Cup. Now, the 23-year-old midfielder has scored three goals in three games.

“What a player that is showing this camp his talent and capacity,” said Pochettino, who recently described Tillman as one of the most talented players in the country. “The work ethic and the way he’s really aggressive – he recovered a lot of balls. 

“He’s always trying to help the team press, chasing back, playing in a different position. He can appear like a No. 10 in between the lines, he can be on the right or the left side, he can drop and play like a No. 8 or a No. 6. 

“What a talented player. I’m so pleased with him. So pleased. He’s a lovely guy, and he’s started to find himself. The team is much better when he’s involved in the game.”

Now, however, the stakes get higher. While Saudi Arabia and Haiti were solid opponents for a young American squad that’s only played together for a couple of weeks, Costa Rica will pose a stiffer test. As will any potential mix of Mexico, Panama or Canada – teams the U.S. will likely have to face in order to win the Gold Cup. 

In those matchups, Tillman’s missed opportunities could cost the U.S. So too could the mistake goalkeeper Matt Freese made when he and Tim Ream’s miscommunication led to Haiti equalizing in the 18th minute.

But the USMNT has done what it’s needed to do so far by winning its group and advancing to the Gold Cup quarterfinals when it could have spiraled after those embarrassing pre-tournament losses.

“The steps that we’ve made I think are huge,” Aaronson said. “From two not great results with Turkiye and Switzerland, I mean, it’s tough. You get down on yourself and stuff like that. 

“But what I see from this group is that bounce-back mentality. You come into the tournament and you could let it bother you, you could let negativity bother you. But I think that the biggest thing with this group is we tune everything out. We just keep going.”

United States vs. Haiti Concacaf Gold Cup Highlights | FOX Soccer

Check out the top moments from this match between United States and Haiti!

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.

Get more from Gold Cup Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more