Coming into the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Malik Tillman had only scored once in his first 19 appearances for the U.S. men’s national team. He’s now scored three times in as many games at the tournament,

Malik Tillman drew first blood before Patrick Agyemang played hero with a 75th minute game-winner to lead the United States Men's National Team past Haiti, securing a perfect 3-0 record in the Gold Cup group stage.

Although the idea of overloading the midfield makes sense, dropping one of the team’s fastest and most agile players into an unnatural position is puzzling, especially when the midfield of Tillman, Quinn Sullivan and Brendan Aaronson doesn’t offer much in the way of pace.