The United States men’s national soccer team lost 2-1 to Germany in their final warm-up friendly ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The match took place on June 6 at Soldier Field in Chicago in front of 63,636 fans, a record crowd that surpassed their last match attendance of 57,741 against Senegal [1, 2, 3, 4].

Germany struck early as Kai Havertz scored in the second minute from a Joshua Kimmich free kick. The U.S. responded with a volleyed equalizer from Antonee Robinson in the 37th minute, energizing the home crowd [1, 2, 3, 4]. Germany regained the lead in the 57th minute through Leroy Sané, who scored the winning goal [1, 2, 3, 4].

U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino praised his team’s character and overall effort despite the loss. "Overall, I think it was a good performance. I am happy with the performance of everyone. We play one of the most important teams in the world," he said. He added that the match was an important test of how the team reacts under pressure and showed the players’ togetherness on the field. Pochettino noted that the squad had faced a heavy training load in recent weeks and emphasized the need to manage player fitness before their World Cup opening match [1, 2, 3, 4].

Midfielder Tyler Adams and right-back Sergiño Dest both praised the passionate Chicago crowd. Adams said, "These are the atmospheres we need. Chicago's an unreal sport city and they love football." Defender Tim Ream highlighted the team’s resilience, saying, "Sometimes when you get punched in the mouth, you gotta stand back up and punch back. All the guys stepped up, flying around [with] tackles, and really getting into the one-v-one duels" [3, 4].

Pochettino also remarked he finally feels the growing World Cup excitement in the U.S. fanbase, reflecting on stronger attendances and increasing passion. "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... But now you can really feel it," he said [4].

The United States will open their Group D World Cup campaign against Paraguay on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles [1, 2].