Three quick takes from the USMNT's 2-1 loss to Germany

You may have noticed that this newsletter is coming a little late. That's because I called a last-minute audible, deciding to watch the game at the stadium with my friends from Kickback rather than sitting in my hotel room huddled in front of a TV like some sort of troll (save your jokes, they've already been made).

I'm glad I did. Not only did I have a good team (read: four tallboys), but also, we ended up having a tactical cam view of the pitch. I didn't take any pics or video myself, but I was sitting next to Doug, and so:

📍Soldier Field Chicago, Illinois

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— Douglas Reyes-Ceron (@dreyesceron.bsky.social) June 6, 2026 at 1:29 PM

There you go.

My thoughts on the game, which was a very good and encouraging 2-1 loss to an excellent Germany side:

This is the kind of performance I'd hoped for

I know we lost, and for about 60 percent of the game Germany hit a level we can't quite reach. But the US pushed them there – including and especially during the final 35 minutes of the first half, during which we were definitively the better team. The US outshot Germany 11-4 overall in the first half, and played them even on xG (0.74 to 0.74, with more than half of Germany's coming via Kai Havertz's header for the 1-0 lead).

It's insanely hard to chase the game vs. a team as good as Germany without getting gashed on the counter, but the US managed it. I was really impressed with that, in large part because the US rest defense is quite good. At times it feels too conservative, but on the whole that is probably the right call from head coach Mauricio Pochettino.