IRVINE, Calif. -- As the U.S. men's national team soaked up the cheers of the Seattle crowd following its 2-0 win over Australia, captain Tim Ream walked up to midfielder Malik Tillman, put his arm around him and said: "I'm not sure what has happened, but you are an absolute animal on the field."
Asked later how he responded to the compliment, Tillman told ESPN: "I just laughed."
That interaction crystallizes how this World Cup has been for Tillman. He's been seemingly everywhere in the U.S. midfield, pressing the opposition like a maniac, linking the attack together, and even adding some clever flicks and touches to unsettle the opposition defense.
The stats back up eye test, revealing some impressive two-way play. Tillman leads the USMNT with 13 ball recoveries, and is second on the team with five chances created. He even chipped in with an assist for Folarin Balogun's first goal against Paraguay.
And yet throughout this World Cup, Tillman has remained his uber-quiet self. He treats words as if they were gold coins, not something to be doled out casually. You won't see him cracking jokes like Weston McKennie, or barking out orders like Tyler Adams. And he doesn't do much to draw attention to himself either. Except for his play that is.
"I think it's been amazing," Tillman said about his World Cup experience so far. "Of course, it's amazing to be part of the 26 [players], but then also playing and starting games for me was a dream and it's amazing to be here. And I think for the team as well, the first two games show what we can do. And I think we gained more respect and basically showed ourselves."
'You have to pull it out of his nose'
The son of an American serviceman and German mother, Tillman has long cut a quiet figure within the USMNT, almost painfully so. Tillman's brother, LAFC midfielder Timothy Tillman, says his younger brother has always been this way.
"Our aunt used to say, 'You could die next to [Malik] without him speaking. Nothing gets a word out of his mouth. It's insane,'" Timothy told ESPN. "In German we say, 'You have to pull it out of his nose.' He's not a very talkative person."
The soccer fields in the Bavarian cities of Nuremberg and Fürth were where young Malik expressed himself, even as his mother Anja raised the two boys on her own. (Tillman's father, Sheldon, passed away last year.) Remembering the sacrifices his mother made is one topic that gets Malik talking. The U.S. midfielder recalled how when he and his brother joined Bayern Munich's academy as teenagers, Anja moved with them so they wouldn't have to live in the housing the club provided for youth players.
"She ended up leaving her job and her whole life behind just for us to stay together," Malik said. "I think this shows her character and what she would do for us."
The World Cup has provided some rare moments for Anja and her two sons to be reunited. She's stayed with Timothy when she's attended the USMNT's games in the Los Angeles area, and the three have gotten together on the rare days off the USMNT has. Malik has given them much to celebrate.
"We're super proud of him," said Timothy about his kid brother. "I mean, he's been balling. He's doing great so far."
While Malik never quite broke through at Bayern, his talent was enough to see him rise through the professional ranks, taking him to the likes of Rangers, PSV Eindhoven, and now Bayer Leverkusen. But there have been moments in Malik's career where his Sphinx-like ways have been misinterpreted. A quiet moment combined with negative body language has at times been viewed as a lack of care.
Timothy insists that if there was one thing he wished the world knew about his brother, it's how much he cares, not only about his profession but everyone around him. "Even though he might not show it, or it's not really clear to our eyes, it doesn't mean that it's not there," he said.
A change in role pays off
Tillman's commitment to the USMNT has been evident in the team's group-stage matches, although it was unexpected for a host of reasons. It was just over a month ago that the U.S. roster was announced and the absence of Lyon midfielder Tanner Tessmann was a huge talking point. There was concern that the U.S. was thin in midfield. Who was going to partner Adams in the center of the park?
On the day of the roster announcement, Pochettino offered up Tillman as a solution, but there was skepticism. As it turned out, Pochettino tweaked his formation, slotting Tillman in beside McKennie and Adams in the U.S. midfield as more of a box-to-box No. 8, and the trio have been hugely influential, especially in executing the U.S. press.
So far in this World Cup, the U.S. is tied for fifth in terms of average possession start point at 42.9 yards from its own goal, revealing that it is winning the ball higher up the field than most teams. The U.S. is also allowing the fifth-fewest number of passes per opponent's possession at 4.6.
The move marked a change in role for Tillman, who had previously been deployed further upfield. The irony is that after playing in the spot in a pair of pre-World Cup friendlies, Tillman wasn't entirely convinced that the position would work well for him, and needed some convincing from Pochettino. But the U.S. manager has long trusted the 24-year-old to fill a variety of roles, starting at last year's Concacaf Gold Cup. Ultimately, Tillman was won over.
"I didn't really complain, but I just asked [Pochettino] if he really sees me there, and then we had a good chat about this," he said. "And for me now, I think the two games showed that this position suits me really, really good."
The switch certainly plays to some of Tillman's strengths; it allows him to get on the ball and advance the team up the field, but he can still be influential in both boxes. Tillman has also grown to appreciate Pochettino's high-pressing ways, although that is very much an acquired taste.
"If you would've talked to me, I don't know, five or six years ago, I would say I hate [pressing], but now it's part of the game," he said. "If you win the ball high, there's a lot of space, and obviously the goal is closer, so it makes it easier for us to score. So yeah, it's part of the game and by now I like it. I enjoy it."
'Why not show it now again?'
What made Tillman's success even more counterintuitive were his performances for club side Bayer Leverkusen over the back end of last season. Tillman started 14 of Leverkusen's first 17 matches in all competitions prior to the Bundesliga winter break, but after the season resumed, his playing time plummeted and he started just 10 of Leverkusen's last 25 matches in all competitions.
"It's been a really tough time for me," Tillman said about his season at Leverkusen. "I think especially mentally, it wasn't really easy. I didn't play much, but I had to accept it. I had to keep going; I had to keep working hard. I think I might have lacked some confidence the whole season. It's not really been the season I wanted it to be."
A phone call with his brother helped him refocus as Timothy encouraged him to put the difficult club season behind him and concentrate on the World Cup. Malik took that to heart.
"I think coming here was more or less like I saw it as a new start, as a new opportunity," he said. "Of course, I know the squad, I know the coach and I know what my qualities are. And I thought, 'Yeah, why not show it now again?' I know what I can do and then just believe in myself."
That is precisely what Tillman has done. There's no question that he deserves to be in the starting XI; his teammates recognize it, even though they can't quite understand what's come over him.
"I don't know what or why or how," Ream said in trying to explain Tillman's rise. "No matter where he goes, right? Playing on the left, playing in the pocket, playing as a [deep-lying] No. 6 if he has to play as a No. 6, he's just so smart. And when you have a guy who's that smart, that talented physically -- he's like top, top, top -- and when he puts that all together, these are the performances you get. We're all kind of saying it. He's riding a wave right now and he's on top of it, but he's just come on and grown so much over the last year and a half. It's really great to see. Obviously, it's great for the team."
When told of Ream's feedback, Tillman's modesty once again takes over: "I just try to show myself and give the best for the team," he says.
So far, he has done exactly that.