MINNEAPOLIS — The buzzword was “generational talent.” The possibilities, everyone agreed, were limitless. The U.S. men’s national team had been starving for a creative No. 10, and up through the ranks came a blessing, Gio Reyna. He broke into Borussia Dortmund teams before his 18th birthday. He broke several of Christian Pulisic’s “youngest to” records. He cracked countless lists of soccer’s top teens, and by 2026, everyone assumed, he’d be driving the USMNT.

But with 2026 near, Reyna’s career is on ice, and instead, another languid playmaker born in 2002 is seizing control of the U.S. attack.

Malik Tillman has the keys, and he’s using them.

In a span of less than nine hours Sunday and Monday, here in the Midwest and across the pond in Europe, two events further established Tillman as a potential USMNT centerpiece. First, he helped drive the U.S. to a Gold Cup quarterfinal victory. Then, by the time he awoke — or perhaps before he went to sleep — Bayer Leverkusen reportedly reached an agreement to buy Tillman for well over $40 million.

He will likely become the second-most expensive American soccer player ever, behind only Pulisic, when the deal is finalized.

And an ocean away, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, he showed why.

Tillman was far from perfect in a dramatic win over Costa Rica. (And yes, it was only Costa Rica.) But he glided around a subpar pitch, dictated the USMNT’s most dangerous moves, contributed to two goals, and also won a penalty (which he missed).

He spent much of the game lurking, on the prowl for space between Costa Rican lines, and when his teammates found him, he did things that very few players in the U.S. pool are capable of doing.

Some might argue the list includes only Tillman and Reyna. Maybe Christian Pulisic.

Reyna, though, hasn’t played 90 minutes of competitive soccer in a year. Over the last four years, he has played 70-plus minutes in only seven official matches for his clubs. He has only played once, for 21 minutes as a sub, under U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino. He is currently at the Club World Cup, but, as per usual, he is stuck on Dortmund’s bench.

Tillman, meanwhile, is rising.

John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF via Getty Images

Malik Tillman on the rise for club and country

Born in Germany to an American father, he first rose through Bayern Munich’s academy. He learned on loan at Rangers in Scotland. Then he really rose at PSV Eindhoven. In 2024-25, despite missing three months with an ankle injury, he was one of the very best players in the entire Dutch Eredivisie. That’s when Leverkusen came calling; that’s why Leverkusen apparently sees him as a replacement for Liverpool-bound Florian Wirtz.

For the U.S., Tillman had never quite justified the hype. Entering this summer, he’d never scored or assisted a senior national team goal. Nonetheless, with ranks depleted, Pochettino built a makeshift Gold Cup squad around Tillman. And the 23-year-old has repaid Poch’s faith.

He scored twice in a beatdown of Trinidad and Tobago. He dazzled in an inconsequential win over Haiti. Sunday, though, brought the first true-ish test … and Tillman dazzled again.

Throughout the 90 minutes, his full repertoire was on display. He combined with Patrick Agyemang several times on the edge of the box. In the 31st minute, with U.S. possession stagnant, he enlivened it with a lovely flick, a bursting run into the box, and a dangerous cross that earned the U.S. a penalty.

On paper, he started as a right winger; but in reality, he lives in the so-called “half-spaces,” in the interior “pockets” between an opponent’s fullback, center back and midfielders.

He roamed those spaces on Sunday, with the “freedom” that Pochettino has given him. He found space, but far too often, the U.S. didn’t find him — and on a few occasions, he appeared frustrated.

But at halftime, coaches showed players a few instructive clips. The message, Tillman said, was to “find different spaces” and “the opposite side.”

Sure enough, less than two minutes after halftime, when the U.S. circulated the ball from left to right, Chris Richards activated Tillman with an expertly disguised pass. Tillman, with the ball en route to his feet, glanced ever so briefly over his left shoulder; saw he had time and space to turn; played a 1-2 with Agyemang, and set up Max Arfsten’s first career USMNT goal.

That you saw. What you probably don’t recall is how the U.S. gained possession in the first place. That, too, was thanks to Tillman.

His pressing — including his back-pressing, as seen above — is an underrated part of his game. The nonchalant, almost leisurely way that Tillman moves can fool some first-time observers. Statistically, at PSV, compared to other attacking midfielders and wingers in mid-tier leagues, his tackling and interceptions ranked in the 97th and 99th percentile, respectively, this past season. Even compared to true midfielders, he’s in the 81st percentile, per FBref. And he’s been similarly active defensively for the U.S.

He is hardly flawless. He bore some fault on Costa Rica’s second goal, when he tried to force a through ball into a non-existent window; and then, when it was intercepted, rather than race back into position, he brought his hands to his head and almost sulked, enabling Los Ticos to build their possession.

His utility, though, outweighs his shortcomings.

Tillman’s best traits

He has even added long-range shooting to his arsenal, and nearly scored a banger Sunday. He’ll probably be the chief goal threat when the U.S. meets Guatemala in Wednesday’s semifinal (7 p.m. ET, FS1/Univision).

It’s his off-ball movement, though, that is perhaps his best trait. And it’s less about dynamism, more about intelligence. It’s sneaky, and often slow, almost Messi-like. As 19 other players jog side to side, following the ball, Tillman will often walk — because he knows that a lack of movement, coupled with the movement of opposing midfielders, is sometimes the best way to create passing lanes.

He can also run off a target man like Agyemang. He can join strikers in the box, as he did for a goal against Haiti.

He does not have Reyna’s vision or creativity. In fact, all in all, the two are very different players. But he currently has the spot that once seemed earmarked for Reyna, and a chance to make it his own ahead of the World Cup next summer.

The question, of course, is how he’ll cope with higher levels. Costa Rica isn’t Colombia; Haiti isn’t Japan. And Heracles Almelo isn’t RB Leipzig. Eredivisie stardom, historically, is notoriously not predictive of stardom elsewhere. There is a chance that Tillman’s occasional slowness and inconsistent sharpness humble him in the Bundesliga and against better national teams. There’s a chance that all this success is a mirage.

There is also a chance he doesn’t mesh with Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, Weston McKennie and the rest of the USA’s A-squad. There’s a chance he doesn’t ultimately fit in Pochettino’s starting 11.

For now, however, there is genuine excitement that the USMNT has found a No. 10, a playmaker who can operate between lines and pick locks that, in the past, have proven unbreakable.

“Malik is an unbelievable talent,” Pochettino said last fall, shortly after taking the U.S. job.

Perhaps not generational, but, as Pochettino said more recently, “one of the most talented players that we have in the USA.”