Malik Tillman has quietly become one of the USMNT’s most important attacking midfielders, and he announced himself at the World Cup with a standout display in the opener. Bayern Munich-developed and now a Bundesliga player with Bayer Leverkusen, Tillman offers the United States goals and creativity from the heart of midfield.
From Bayern’s academy to the Bundesliga
Tillman came through the academy at Bayern Munich but made his name elsewhere. A loan to Rangers brought a goal-laden breakout season in Scotland, before a move to PSV Eindhoven, where he won the Eredivisie title. He has since stepped up to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. The table below covers his main goalscoring spells in our database.
| Club | Apps | Goals | Assists | Chances created |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rangers (loan) | 40 | 11 | 5 | 52 |
| Bayer Leverkusen | 39 | 8 | 1 | 31 |
What the numbers say
Tillman’s strength is doing both jobs at once. He scored 11 goals and created 52 chances in his Rangers loan, then added eight goals at Bayer Leverkusen, the profile of a midfielder who arrives in the box as often as he supplies it. He is comfortable on either foot and dangerous from range, which makes him hard to mark between the lines.
Malik Tillman and the USMNT
For the United States, Tillman gives head coach Mauricio Pochettino a goal threat from midfield to go with the creativity of Christian Pulisic ahead of him. See where he fits in our USMNT roster guide.
How Tillman was used vs Paraguay
Tillman did not start as a classic No. 10. Pochettino paired him with Tyler Adams in a midfield two, asking him to help build from deep before breaking forward, with Weston McKennie ahead of him as the advanced playmaker. That deeper starting point makes his output all the more impressive: an assist and a team-high-equalling five shots, arriving in the box from midfield rather than starting there. He also created three chances and took nine touches inside the Paraguay box. It showed the positional flexibility that makes him so valuable.
USA 4-1 Paraguay and what is next
Tillman was one of the standouts in the opener, providing an assist and firing in a team-high-equalling five shots as the United States beat Paraguay 4-1. Read the full USA vs Paraguay player ratings. With the group stage complete, the United States beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 in the Round of 32 to reach the last 16. For the bigger picture, see our World Cup 2026 hub and the latest World Cup 2026 winner odds, with more at U.S. Soccer.
Malik Tillman by the advanced numbers
Tillman’s breakout at Rangers reads like a forward’s season from midfield. His 11 goals came in 2,517 minutes, a rate of 0.39 per 90, and he racked up 172 touches inside the opposition box while three of those goals were headers. At Bayer Leverkusen he has been ruthless in the big moments, converting six of his eight clear-cut chances and scoring twice from outside the box.
His PSV title season also shows a set-piece dimension that is easy to overlook. Tillman provided three assists there, two of them directly from corners, and scored a direct free kick, while posting an impressive 2.99 expected assists in limited minutes. Across his career he is a right-foot-dominant shooter, with eight of his 11 Rangers goals struck with that foot.
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Malik Tillman in the USA’s run to the last 16
Tillman sealed the USA’s 2-0 Round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, scoring the second goal on 82 minutes across a full 90 minutes after Folarin Balogun had opened the scoring. In the group stage he created two chances in the 2-0 win over Australia, then made a brief cameo in the rotated Turkey game as the USA topped Group D. The USA reached the last 16, but their home World Cup ended there with a 4-1 defeat to Belgium, though Malik Tillman had briefly levelled with a 31st-minute equaliser before Belgium pulled clear.
Malik Tillman is an American attacking midfielder for Bayer Leverkusen and one of the USMNT’s most creative players. Born in Germany, he came through Bayern Munich’s academy before committing to the United States.
He developed at Bayern Munich, impressed on loan at Rangers, won the Eredivisie title with PSV Eindhoven, and now plays for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
An attacking midfielder who plays between the lines, he scores and creates in roughly equal measure and can also operate as a second striker.
Tillman starred in the 4-1 win over Paraguay, providing an assist and registering a team-high-equalling five shots from midfield.