Given that Berhalter specifically named him and talked him up in the Tenorio podcast yesterday, I'd say you're correct that Tillman has a better chance for the WC roster than most here have assumed (myself included).
He showed enough in June IMO that he could make a run given his potential. That said, I think his level of competition for attacking mid is pretty high. I think even his mention was more in context of the depth if we wanted more attacking in the midfield.
Tillman is not in my 26. But sustained success at Rangers and some good fortune elsewhere in the US squad will have him in serious contention.
He looks like the real deal to me. It is still early but sometimes you see a guy play in a match and it just feels like a coming out party... and this could have been it for him. He also brings positional flexibility which I know all NT coaches like... In my eyes he is already on the bus because of said flexibility and because he has game-changing talent. I really hope he keeps up this hot start and forces GB's hand... because I think a star might have been born tonight in Glasgow.
Malik Tillman (1 G) vs Union Saint-Gilloise pic.twitter.com/nezLnUNDwq— Jack Stephen 🇺🇸🇮🇳 (@USMNTZ) August 9, 2022
This angle of Malik Tillman's goal for @RangersFC to send them through to the UCL play-offs is AMAZING! 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/JK9RoPcFWk— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) August 9, 2022
Poor goalkeeping, on Tillman's goal. He looked better in the 2nd half. He has a bit a flare and vision but I still don't think that good of a player. I'll be watching the games vs PSV. I expect Rangers to be dominated by the Dutch powerhouse.
Yeah, poor play by the goalie there but what was most interesting to me is how much Tillman looked more aggressive in this game than what I've mostly seen. I have to wonder if some of that is just getting familiar with his surroundings and teammates. If he has a few more sessions with the US and gets some minutes with the team, we could very well see a much different player than we did in his first cameo. That said the clock is ticking and the competition he will be facing between now and Qatar is mediocre in most games so it will be hard to make any conclusions on just his club performances and there is very little prep time with the US team left. Making decisions like this without perfect information or conclusive comparisons are where coaches earn their money.
This is my problem with him. People can get excited about the goal and performance this week but that Belgium team is basically a below average MLS team and that's the level of play he'll be facing in Scotland. I think the kid has loads of potential and the minutes he's getting are a positive sign development wise but they don't tell us if he belongs on the bus to Qatar. There's a pretty long list of largely below average MLS players who no one wants on the National Team who've done well in Scotland.
23 man roster, I doubt it. 26 man roster - More likely. With 3 extra slots you really don't take defensive players, what's the point? Most teams barely rotate the back 4. And you are more likely to gamble on an offensive player as opposed to a defensive one.
That's been my assumption. He tripped on like his first play and about 50% of the fanbase here wrote him off in that moment. I don't think he's likely for Qatar unless we have injuries, but I do think judging him by a few stumbles in his US appearance was premature.
Berhalter wouldn't have wasted his time calling Malik up in the last window if he wasn't seriously considering him. Like with most players, we should throw the first couple of caps out. If we judged all of our USMNT players based on the first couple of caps, we'd be in rough shape. Will Malik make the WC squad? I don't know. What I do know is that I also won't solely judge him based on one match against USG.
He's not slow. He's not a wide player, and he's not going to be fast for that, but his speed is fine, I think, for a central player.
How many below average players scored 42 goals, and 25 assists with Bayern Munich youth squads and another 6 with German U17, U20 and U21 sides? Beating up on a weird Belgium squad aint much, I'd agree, but the fact that he's already a fan favorite there, and is a Bayern Munich product that drew plenty of interest for loan duty and was very productive for the Bayern Munich, and German Youth squads puts him far beyond sub standard MLS product in terms of likely estimation. Does it mean he automatically is better? Nope. Does it mean the evidence suggests he probably will be? Yes. How many MLS guys can just walk into the starting lineup for Rangers biggest game of '22 Champions League Qualifying and start? Not many.
Well there is the case of Julian Green, so let's not assume racking up stats for Bayern youth teams automatically translates into anything... but it's certainly a good sign. Even if I'm ignoring my own eyeballs for some reason, I'm just gonna assume that the hundreds of Rangers fans already clamoring for their club to buy Tillman know ball better than the handful of cynical BigSoccer users who are like "he was crap in his USMNT debut" or "he looks a bit slow"...
Well, the move to Rangers was a bold stroke that made it possible to see what he is capable of. The only real question now is if he can do same at higher level. He'll get his chance v. Japan and/or SArabian nationals. When I say "what he is capable of", I'm happy to refer to his good creative skills on display with Rangers which is a skill we could use. We are not deep there when Reyna is out of the equation. Not quite Baryshnikov level but I'd say 36" leap?
I’m not which is why I referenced there being no guarantee of anything. I don’t know what will become of him, he could get derailed by injuries, he could plateau as a product like Green and his brother, he could bust completely, he could become solid or he could become good or great. It seems like the great angle is probably the least likely alongside busting and the most likely seems to be solid or good pro but there’s a lot that can happen between age 20 and age 23, 24, 25 etc. we’ll see. So far things are going reasonably well, not ideal but certainly reasonably well. I can’t find the names of the clubs that lost out to the Rangers bid, only multiple references to EPL clubs trying for him but losing out to Rangers.
Some listed him as the striker for this match. Worth a try for the Nats in order to see if we can get some production there?
For this game, he started on the right wing and then moved inside to a sort of right sided CAM. Looked better inside. Did not play CF/striker but did play there with Bayern 2.