The United States men’s soccer team suffered a 2-1 setback against Germany in their last preparation match before World Cup competition, though head coach Mauricio Pochettino praised his squad’s fighting spirit in the loss.
Germany, winners of four World Cup titles, took an early advantage when Kai Havertz converted Joshua Kimmich’s free kick with a header just two minutes into the match. The United States, serving as World Cup co-hosts, responded with a spectacular tying goal from Antonee Robinson.
Leroy Sane found the net in the 57th minute to secure Germany’s win at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
“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,” Pochettino shared with media members.
“I think we need to be happy with that. We compete, (we were) unlucky, I think it was as an even game… It was an amazing challenge for us to see how we react, how we show character, how we show togetherness, how we start to play under pressure.”
The United States will begin their Group D matches against Paraguay on June 12 at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles.
“We were demanding a lot to the player(s) in the last two weeks. I’ve seen (us) overload the player(s) and the team,” the Argentine manager explained.
“Now (we have) to assess the load and be intelligent in the way that we are going to arrive to the Paraguay (game), in the best condition, fresh with energy.”
