Malik Tillman is more than a sidekick

Futi’s World Cup continues with a guest blog from Catalina Bush.

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The United States Men’s National Team kicked off their World Cup with startling confidence, snuffing out any lingering doubts in a 4-1 demolition exercise against Paraguay.

Christian Pulisic silenced concerns by registering an assist and serving as the USMNT’s prime creator before departing at halftime. Folarin Balogun lived up to the hype around his switch from England to the U.S. three years ago with a convincing brace. Gio Reyna added a last-minute trivela and shushed the haters too, I guess. Even Mauricio Pochettino, in his Russell-Crowe-on-a-fishing-trip fit, brushed off the many questions about his coaching style, tactics and future career plans by delivering a glorious win.

But alongside the usual headline names was another player whose quiet talent was on full display: Malik Tillman.

Contrary to what you might expect for a 24-year-old American who came up at Bayern Munich, won a pair of Eredivisie titles with PSV and last season became Bayer Leverkusen’s record signing to replace Florian Wirtz, Tillman’s role with the national team is basically “sidekick.” Even in a pivotal role where he connects Tyler Adams to Pulisic and Weston McKennie, Tillman’s name always is always said last in the USMNT’s midfield.

For much of the first half against Paraguay, Tillman was more of an accessory than a star, yet even though he wasn’t on the ball much he still managed to make his mark. In the final minute of first-half stoppage time, he floated between lines, picked up the ball from Adams and played an inch-perfect pass that landed on a platter for a sprinting Balogun, who curled his shot into the top corner. The play was possible because Paraguay, like everyone else, underestimated Tillman: when he received the ball, the opposing midfielders were more concerned with McKennie and failed to apply pressure or properly defend the channel where Tillman worked his magic.

The assist looked almost effortless, Tillman himself at ease.

Then Pulisic left the game with a knock. There had been plenty of speculation before the tournament about who might deputize if the USMNT’s biggest star went down. Reyna can fill that role in theory, but he’s always been more theory than reality. Brenden Aaronson? A hustle guy. Diego Luna? Didn’t even make the roster.

As it turned out, the team’s best backup creator was already on the pitch.

When Sebastian Berhalter slotted into central midfield, it freed Tillman to move up to the vacant left wing. He may have a markedly different playing style than Pulisic, but the dropoff was nonexistent. While his teammates started to sag in the second half, Tillman teemed with energy. He got stuck in, won balls high up the pitch and was involved in almost every attacking move.

Tillman’s talent in tight spaces was the story of the second half. He deftly navigated the left side of the attack, nutmegging Parguayan defenders and spraying dangerous passes. According to futi’s player skill ratings, his Linking rating, which measures the value of passes outside attacking phases, was a 97 and his ball-winning was similarly exceptional. He finished the game with an overall match rating of 96, one of the best performances of the World Cup so far.

Maybe Tillman was a little fortunate that futi rates expected goals (he earned an impressive 0.9 xG) over actual ones (a less impressive 0). If he looked like Messi in the halfspace, he was Timo Werner in front of goal. Two of his shots were blocked. One he sliced wide. Another big chance fell to him off a defensive error, only for Tillman to tap it tamely at the goalkeeper’s chest.

Then, late in the second half, came the real shocker:

Let’s begin with the positives: this was good positioning from Tillman to intercept a truly horrendous pass from Paraguay.

Now for the rest: Tillman’s initial pass to Ricardo Pepi is poor. It’s far too flat and fails to lead the run, forcing the striker to slow down and allowing another Paraguayan defender to join the fray. It seems Pepi was taking notes, because his return pass is also behind Tillman, who rescues it with a good touch to set himself up for a shot between the two defenders and then delivers … a weak attempt straight to the goalkeeper’s waiting hands.

Even a disappointing day in front of goal couldn’t overshadow an otherwise stellar performance, though. That Tillman is even getting into these positions with secondary runs is a positive in and of itself. I once posited that Tillman could find a future in a kind of box-crashing No. 8 role, and since then, his game has only grown. For the USMNT, having an extra shooter who can pop out of nowhere and (sometimes) bang one would be an ace up the sleeve.

Will Tillman be his country’s best player? Probably not. But his surprise arrival as a key creator who might just find some goals makes him a promising option if Pulisic can’t stay fit. Every good sidekick, after all, deserves a scene or two to be the hero.