‘Survival of the fittest’, ‘Every man for himself’…That is how it feels sometimes in professional soccer, especially when you’re battling for the honor of wearing your country’s colors. Only the best of the best make it to the starting XI and former USMNT player Charlie Davies acknowledges that it will be tough for Malik Tillman if he wants to secure a spot in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI. 

Having made 17 appearances since his debut in 2022, Malik Tillman is yet to find the back of the net for the USMNT. On the club side, Tillman has been performing well for PSV Eindhoven. However, speaking on the ‘Call it What You Want‘ podcast, Charlie Davies emphasized the need for the 22-year-old to improve his game, if he dreams of becoming a regular. 

“We can see his quality but that doesn’t always translate to the US Men’s National team, and the whole comfortable thing, that’s on him, not on Mauricio Pochettino to make him feel comfortable,” said Davies, highlighting the fact that the Argentine coach does have plenty of options to choose from. 

“It’s on him to put those numbers, that he does for PSV, (to do the same) for the USMNT” added Davies. Co-host and ex-USMNT star Tony Meola also highlighted that in the national team, there have been players who have been delivering consistently for so long, so it will take a lot for Tillman to prove his worth to Pochettino. 

Recently, Malik Tillman earned his first start for PSV Eindhoven and created two chances in the side’s 5-2 victory over Utrecht in the Eredivisie. However, there’s another American at the club who’s having a solid campaign for both club and country and looks to be the bigger threat. 

Is Ricardo Pepi Pochettino’s new no.9?

The 21-year-old was called up to replace the injured Folarin Balogun of AS Monaco and given his recent form, the USMNT coach may have a tough decision to pick between the two after the international break ends. After scoring back-to-back goals in the CONCACAF Nations League, Pepi has managed to score 13 goals for the USMNT so far. 

Looking at his club numbers, Ricardo Pepi is second in the Eredivisie goal-scoring chart with 9 goals for PSV so far. He has already surpassed his tally of 7 goals from the previous season, and with his recent hat-trick performance against Groningen, there seems to be no stopping the 21-year-old forward.

With the 2026 World Cup set to be hosted in North America, both PSV forwards, Ricardo Pepi and Malik Tillman, will be hoping to impress Pochettino to secure a spot in the starting XI. For now, their focus will be on winning the CONCACAF Nations League for a fourth time, which is the bare minimum as per critics.