Bayern Munich youngster Malik Tillman to play for the USA

Born in Nuremberg to a German mother and American father, Tillman joined Bayern's youth academy from Greuther Fürth at the age of 13 in 2005, at the same time as elder brother Timothy.

The attacking midfielder subsequently turned out for the USA at U15 level but has represented Germany at every level up to U21 since, scoring five times in 19 youth caps.

But now he has pledged his international future to the United States, with the hope of turning out for the USMNT at the United 2026 FIFA World Cup.

"We regret Malik's decision - it surprised us a lot," Germany U21 coach Antonio Di Salvo told Kicker. "We promoted him as a young player in the U21s, we placed a lot of trust in him and gave him match practice. In addition, we were in intensive talks regarding his prospects in the senior national team."

Tillman, 19, has made seven appearances for Bayern's first-team this season, scoring in the DFB Cup win over Bremer SV. He also has four goals and four assists in 15 outings with the reserves.

With Jamal Musiala currently ahead of him for club and country, and Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz providing further competition in his position for Germany, perhaps Tillman's decision makes sense.

A promising player nonetheless, he will hope to compete with Borussia Dortmund academy graduates Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna - the former now with Chelsea - over the coming seasons with the USMNT.

Malik's elder brother Timothy returned to Fürth in 2020, this season playing 29 of a possible 34 games as Die Kleeblätter were relegated from the Bundesliga.

Capped up to U19 level with Germany, the 23-year-old has also previously expressed interest in turning out for the US.

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