As part of the long-term strategic plan to prepare for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the United States men’s national team will face four-time world champions Germany in an international friendly. Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut will host the game on Saturday, October 14 at 3 p.m. ET (TNT, Telemundo, Peacock, FDP Radio).
The USA, 11th in the FIFA rankings, enters the game on a 13-game unbeaten streak. The team has not lost since a 2-1 loss to Serbia on January 25th.
The Americans have won two friendlies without conceding a goal, defeating Uzbekistan 3-0 on September 9 and Oman 4-0 three days later.
In their second game of the September international window, the USA host Ghana in another friendly on Tuesday, October 17 in Nashville, Tennessee, while the Germans travel to Philadelphia to face Mexico the same evening.
FOOTBALL HISTORY
Germany has helped define international football by producing some of the most iconic teams, players and moments in history while winning the coveted World Cup four times.
Some of the world’s best players have played for this European team, including Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, former USMNT head coach Jürgen Klinsmann and Lothar Matthäus, among others. When West Germany was at the 1954 World Cup, the team overcame an early two-goal deficit to defeat Ferenc Puskas and the Magical Magyars of Hungary 3-2 and win a World Cup for the first time. As hosts of the 1974 competition, the West Germans recovered from another early deficit to record a 2-1 victory over Johan Cruyff and the Netherlands. In 1990 they returned to the winner’s stand, defeating Diego Maradona and Argentina 1-0 in the Italia ’90 final when Andreas Brehme scored an 85th-minute penalty.
In Brazil in 2014, Germany became the first European team to win a World Cup in South America, beating Argentina and Lionel Messi 1-0 when Mario Götze scored the winning goal in the 113th minute. Since then, the Germans have failed to reach the knockout rounds in the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
Germany has also won the European Championship three times – 1972, 1980, 1996 – and won the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017.
USMNT VS. GERMANY
The USA has a 4-7-0 record against Germany in several memorable results. The teams met for the first time on June 13, 1993 at the US Cup in Chicago, with the European team winning 4-3. Karlheinz Riedle scored a hat-trick and Jürgen Klinsmann added a goal for the Germans. Thomas Dooley scored a brace and Earnie Stewart contributed a goal for the USA. They met for the first time in 1998 at the World Championships in Paris, France. Germany triumphed 2-0 on June 15, 1998, behind goals from Andreas Möller and Klinsmann. In one of Bruce Arena’s first games as USMNT head coach, the Americans picked up their first win of the series with a 3-0 friendly win in Jacksonville, Florida on February 6, 1999, as Jovan Kirovski, Tony Sanneh and Claudio Reyna scored inside of 10 minutes in the first half.
In what was probably the most famous meeting between the two teams, Germany won 1-0 in the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup in Ulsan, South Korea. Michael Ballack scored the only goal in the 39th minute. Torsten Frings used his hand to save current USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter’s shot from the line. No violation was reported. The United States surprised the Germans on June 2, 2013 with a 4-3 victory in a friendly in Washington, DC at RFK Stadium in the US Soccer Centennial Celebration Match, in which Clint Dempsey scored a brace. Jozy Altidore added another goal and the visitors scored an own goal.
In the third World Cup game between the two teams on June 26, 2014 in Recife, Brazil, Germany secured a 1-0 victory in the group stage with Thomas Müller’s goal in the 55th minute. In their last appearance, Bobby Wood gave the USA a 2-1 victory in Cologne on June 10, 2015 with his goal in the 87th minute. Mario Götze gave the hosts the lead, but Mix Diskerud equalized in the 41st minute.
LAST GAMES
Despite six home games, Germany has struggled to reach a 2-4-1 mark in seven friendlies this year. The team started 2023 optimistically, defeating Peru 2-0 behind Niclas Füllkrug’s brace on March 25 in Mainz. Three days later, the Germans lost 2-3 to Belgium in Cologne, with Füllkrug and Serge Gnabry also scoring points.
June wasn’t exactly kind to the Germans, finishing winless at 0-2-1. They played to a 3-3 draw against Ukraine in Bremen on June 12, escaping with a draw thanks to a Joshua Kimmich penalty a minute into second-half stoppage time. Füllkrug and Kai Havertz scored. They were then excluded twice within four days. The first game ended with a 0-1 defeat against Poland in Warsaw on June 16th, the second game ended with a 0-2 defeat against Colombia on June 20th in Gelsenkirchen.
The winning streak ended on September 9th in Wolfsburg with a 1-4 defeat against Japan in five games. Leroy Sané equalized in the first half, but the Asian team scored twice late in the game to pull ahead. Germany broke the slump with a 2-1 win over France in Dortmund on September 12, scoring early and late. Thomas Müller scored in the fourth minute, Sané in the 87th minute.
MANAGER
At 36 years old, Julian Nagelsmann is one of the youngest national coaches in the industry. On September 22nd he was appointed Hansi Flick’s successor. Nagelsmann also became the second-youngest national coach in German history (Otto Nerz was the youngest at 34 when he was appointed in 1926). Nagelsmann will make his international coaching debut against the USMNT.
Nagelsmann became the youngest coach in Bundesliga history when he took charge of Hoffenheim in 2016 at the age of 28. He managed the club until 2018, finishing third in the league and reaching the UEFA Champions League. He was appointed head coach of RB Leipzig in 2018 and led the team to the UCL semi-finals, where they lost 3-0 to Paris Saint-Germain. After leading Leipzig to the DFB Cup final in 2021, Nagelsmann was appointed head coach of FC Bayern Munich. Before he was fired last March, he led Bayern to the 2022 Bundesliga title.
Nagelsmann played as a central defender for FC Issing, FC Augsburg and 1860 Munich.
SCHEDULE
In his first nomination as head coach, Julian Nagelsmann nominated 26 players for the two friendly matches. The majority of the squad comes from Germany and consists of 19 players from Bundesliga teams.
Perennial powerhouse Bayern Munich is the most represented club team with five players, followed by Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen with four players each.
Fans will be familiar with Bayern striker Thomas Müller, who scored in a 1-0 win over the USA in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup. Müller, the oldest player in the squad at 34, is also the top goalscorer with 45 in 123 international matches.
US striker Gio Reyna, who plays for Borussia Dortmund, will face four members of his club team – defenders Mats Hummels and Niklas Süle, midfielder Julian Brandt and striker Niclas Füllkrug.
Füllkrug has scored seven goals in nine international matches, including four this year.
Barcelona midfielder İlkay Gündoğan (17 goals in 69 appearances) is the team’s captain.
Midfielder Florian Wirtz, 20, is the youngest player in the team.
Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Robert Andrich, Stuttgart winger Chris Führich and Union Berlin striker Kevin Behrens are about to make their first appearances.
In an unusual move, Nagelsmann decided to bring four goalkeepers to the States. Barcelona’s Marc-André ter Stegen has the most experience in defense with 36 appearances.
ROSTER DETAILS
GOALKEEPER (4): Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim; 0/0), Bernd Leno (Fulham/ENG; 9/0), Marc-André ter Stegen (Barcelona/ESP; 36/0), Kevin Trapp (Eintracht Frankfurt; 7/0)
DEFENSE (7): Robin Gosens (Union Berlin; 18/2), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund; 76/5), David Raum (RB Leipzig; 18/2), Antonio Rüdiger (Real Madrid/ESP; 62/2), Niklas Süle (Borussia ). Dortmund; 47/1), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen; 17/0), Malick Thiaw (AC Milan/ITA; 2/0)
MIDFIELDER (10): Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen; 0/0), Julian Brandt (Borussia Dortmund; 44/3), Chris Führich (VfB Stuttgart; 0/0), Leon Goretzka (Bayern Munich; 45/14), Pascal Gross (Brighton/ENG ; 2.0), İlkay Gündoğan (Barcelona/ESP; 2/0), Jonas Hofmann (Bayer Leverkusen; 22/4), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich; 80/6), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich; 23/1) , Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen; 10/0)
FORWARD (5): Leroy Sané (Bayern Munich; 55/13), Kevin Behrens (Union Berlin; 0/0), Niclas Füllkrug (Borussia Dortmund; 9/7), Kai Havertz (Arsenal/ENG; 39/13), Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich ). ; 123/45)