The USA and Germany have confirmed their starting teams for their meeting in an international friendly at Chicago’s Soldier Field on Saturday.
The World Cup co-hosts earned one of their most impressive results since head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment in September 2024 by beating Senegal in Charlotte on May 30.
Four-time world champions Germany are playing their first match in the US, with their finals campaign starting against the Ivory Coast on January 20 (21:00 BST), a day after the USA open against Australia (20:00).
101GreatGoals.com has the team news and starting line-ups as the USA and Germany’s preparations continue for the 2026 World Cup.
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— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) June 6, 2026
Ready to have Chicago rocking on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/HBA35U1Sj6
Table of Contents
World Cup 2026 friendly: USA confirmed team vs Germany
The USA make five changes from that win over Senegal, bringing in Sergino Dest, Tyler Adams, Miles Robinson, Tim Ream and Folarin Balogun.
Leeds United midfielder Brenden Aaronson is joined by Bournemouth midfielder Adams, Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards, Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson and Coventry City forward Haji Wright among the USA’s Premier League contingent.
Adams missed 10 matches for the Cherries with a knee injury between December and February and four combined for club and country with a hamstring problem between March and April but starts this time, as does Robinson.
Richards, who won the Conference League with the Eagles 10 days ago, is not involved, while Middlesbrough’s Aidan Morris did not make the squad.
Sebastian Berhalter, Celtic’s Auston Trusty and Timothy Weah move to the bench.
USA starting XI: Matt Freese, Sergino Dest, Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Miles Robinson, Tim Ream, Alex Freeman, Malik Tillman, Folarin Balogun
USMNT substitutes: Matt Turner, Brenden Aaronson, Max Arfsten, Sebastian Berhalter, Chris Brady, Mark McKenzie, Ricardo Pepi, Giovanni Reyna, Cristian Roldan, Joe Scally, Auston Trusty, Timothy Weah, Haji Wright, Alex Zendejas,
World Cup 2026 warm-up: Germany full line up vs USMNT
Germany make two alterations from their 4-0 win over Finland in a friendly in Mainz on May 31, bringing in Kai Harvertz and Leroy Sane for Lennart Karl – who is out of the finals with a thigh injury suffered in training – and Deniz Undav, who moves to the bench.
Arsenal forward Havertz, Brighton & Hove Albion playmaker Pascal Gross and Liverpool counterpart Florian Wirtz make up three of the Premier League players in their squad, joined by Newcastle defender Malick Thiaw and forward Nick Woltemade.
Havertz’s involvement in the Champions League final last Saturday and parade of the Premier League trophy alongside his Gunners teammates in London the following day meant he was the last player to join Germany’s squad in the US, but the 26-year-old and Wirtz are among the starters.
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has come out of international retirement at the age of 40 and will be Germany’s number one for the tournament, head coach Julian Nagelsmann has said.
Germany starting XI: Oliver Baumann, Kai Havertz, Nathaniel Brown, Jonathan Tah, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Nico Schlotterbeck, Felix Nmecha, Joshua Kimmich, Florian Wirtz
Germany substitutes: Nadiem Amiri, Waldemar Anton, Maximilian Beier, Leon Goretzka, Pascal Gross, Jamie Leweling, Alexander Nubel, David Raum, Antonio Rudiger, Angelo Stiller, Malick Thiaw, Deniz Undav, Jonas Urbig, Nick Woltemade
Where to watch USA vs Germany: TV channel, live online stream
Kick-off on Saturday is at 19:30 BST (14:30 ET / 11:30 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Amazon Prime PPV, which charges £2.99 for the game.
World Cup 2026 friendly: USA vs Germany stats
- The last meeting between the nations ended with a 3-1 comeback win for Nagelsmann’s side in East Hartford in October 2023, giving Germany an 8-4 lead in the fixture overall
- Each of their three encounters at the finals have produced Germany wins: 2-0 during the 1998 group stage and 1-0 in the 2002 quarter-finals and the 2014 group stage
- USA midfielder Malik Tillman is an academy product of Germany’s most successful team, Bayern Munich, winning the 2021/22 Bundesliga at the club before moving to PSV in 2024 and Leverkusen in 2025
- Borussia Monchengladbach and USMNT midfielder Giovanni Reyna is the son of former USA internationals Claudio Reyna and Danielle Reyna. His father started against Germany at the 1998 finals and captained the USA against them at the 2002 tournament
- The 1994 hosts have won one of their last seven matches at the finals (W1 D3). That run to the last eight in 2002 is their best, losing 1-0 to a Michael Ballack goal in Ulsan
- Of their nine successive friendly matches since losing the Gold Cup final 2-1 to Mexico in Houston last July, the USMNT’s record is W5 L3 D1
- Germany have gone out in the group stage at successive tournaments since that triumph 12 years ago
- They recovered from a 2-0 defeat in Slovakia in their opening qualifier for this edition – a first-ever World Cup qualifying away loss – to win all of their remaining matches in the campaign, signing off with a 6-0 home win over The Falcons
- Die Mannschaft won the tournament in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014 but were knocked out by Bulgaria in the last eight when it was held in the US 32 years ago
- Neuer was part of the 2014 triumph and has 124 caps, last playing for his country in a EURO 2024 quarter-final defeat by Spain
- Eintracht Frankfurt and Germany left-back Nathaniel Brown has a German mother and American father
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