Thanks Havertz & Sané
©IMAGO
The German national team won against the host USA in the last test match before the 2026 World Cup. Kai Havertz and Leroy Sané scored for national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team, the opponent had meanwhile equalized with a dream goal from Antonee Robinson.
Eight days before the tournament opener against Curaçao, captain Joshua Kimmich and his colleagues showed a lot of resilience and thus also concealed vulnerabilities in defensive behavior that are severely punished against top teams at the World Cup. Havertz (2nd minute) got off to a furious start in front of 63,636 spectators in the huge bowl on Lake Michigan. Robinson (37th) equalized with a dream goal for the USA. With his goal in the 57th minute, the often controversial offensive player Sané secured the morally important 2-1 (1-1) win in Chicago.
Without the unlucky World Cup player Lennart Karl, who had already returned home after his muscle injury and the tearful farewell, and still without record goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, it became clear that national coach Julian Nagelsmann still has a busy week ahead of him after the trip to the World Cup headquarters in Winston-Salem before the World Cup begins in Houston with a goal festival against the blatant outsider from the Caribbean.
DFB team with the motto “All for Lenny” against the USA
All for Lenny. Nagelsmann and DFB President Bernd Neuendorf repeated this motto before kick-off. Cohesion, defiance. This is intended to create a reverse boost for the mood dampener after Karl’s injury. “It hurts, it hurt us, it hurts us as a team because he would have been an important player,” Nagelsmann said before the game on RTL. But: let’s move on. The World Cup is bigger than the sadness.
And in the USA it’s always showtime. Fireworks and two giant jets flying over the arena during the anthems before kick-off were a real foretaste of how soccer is celebrated in the most important World Cup host country. The black, red and gold diamond shirts of the DFB team during the warm-up also fit into the colorful atmosphere.
Havertz unleashed the first sporting blast. After a free-kick chip cross from Kimmich, he headed in unchallenged by Miles Robinson to take the early lead. A parallel: The 26-year-old had also scored early for Arsenal FC in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain a week earlier. Now there was the perfect starting signal for Nagelsmann. The US boys literally had the heavy burden of the upcoming home World Cup on their shoulders.
Kimmich seemed to sense the hosts’ problems and encouraged the German game. Karl’s replacement on the right, Sané, was sought with through passes, but the final timing wasn’t right. Noticeably, Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz were also unable to work their magic. Wirtz lacked precision and Musiala was unusually often required to close gaps in the backward movement.
Heat battle in Chicago: break in the DFB game after a drinking break
Around the drinking break after a good 20 minutes there was a break in the German game. The USA realized that they didn’t have to play so timidly and that the DFB team could be put in trouble with moments of transition. Previously, the home fans had cheered the loudest about the sun that flooded Soldier Field after a heavy shower. Nagelsmann had already changed his rain-soaked shirt from white to blue.
The cold shower in the form of the equalizer was a goal cracker. After a corner from Christian Pulisic and a header from Jonathan Tah, Robinson spectacularly volleyed the ball into the net behind Baumann from almost 20 meters. Neuer couldn’t have parried this shot either. Robinson’s celebration was equally artistic: handstand flip with back somersault. Wow! Now the US team pressed and the DFB defense had enormous problems with chances from Sergino Dest (42nd) and Pulisic (44th) to prevent worse damage. Tah blocked several times in dire need.
Right at the start of the second half, Baumann parried twice against former Schalke player Weston McKennie (49′), a sign from the Hoffenheimer that he can be relied on as a new backup – regardless of the fact that the assistant’s flag then went up.
Shortly afterwards, Felix Nmecha (50th) tested US keeper Matt Freese with a low shot. A free kick from a similar position to that before Havertz’s goal shot Sané (55th) well over the goal. Only American football would have given an extra point for this. At least, now the DFB team showed more offensive actions again. And Sané then struck after preparatory work by Musiala and Havertz.