Malik Tillman finally has his moment with the U.S. men's team: 'He's a baller'

SAN JOSE, Calif. — The surprise on Chris Richards’ face said it all.

Told following the U.S. men’s national team’s resounding 5-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday that three-year veteran Malik Tillman had scored his first two goals for the USMNT, Richards couldn’t believe it.

"I had no idea," said the U.S. center back. "Malik, to be fair, he doesn't speak that much, so I wouldn't have known that. But that's crazy."

Chris Richards help Malik Tillman celebrate his goal on Sunday at PayPal Park. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Tillman earned the first of his 20 International caps in 2022. One of the final cuts from the USMNT’s 2022 World Cup roster, the German-born Bayern Munich product is coming off a career season with PSV Eindhoven, which he helped win the last two Dutch titles and advance to the knockout stage of the UEFA Champions League in consecutive seasons.

Despite missing a chunk of the 2024-25 campaign because of injury, he still managed to score 16 goals in 34 appearances for PSV last term. Still, he’d never found the net at international level until Sunday.

With most of the Americans’ top stars — Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Antonee "Jedi" Robinson and Tim Weah among them — missing for various reasons this summer, this Gold Cup and the two tuneups before it represent an opportunity for others to make their mark. 

Tillman, who manned an attacking midfield role for coach Mauricio Pochettino against the Soca Warriors, has made the most of his opportunity so far. He was the best U.S. player in last weekend’s 2-1 loss to Türkiye. On Sunday, he was even better — with the goals to show for it. The 23-year-old opened the scoring for the hosts 16 minutes in, then doubled his team’s lead before