Photo by Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports

By RYAN TOLMICH

The U.S. Men’s National Team knows exactly what it will be facing on Wednesday. Fresh off a victory over an elite Netherlands side, the U.S. is now tasked with something even a bit more difficult: taking down the reigning World Cup champions.

Germany is set to host the USMNT on Wednesday in Cologne, providing the Americans with yet another test on the road to the Gold Cup. While defeating the Netherlands gave the U.S. a major feather to place in its cap, head coach Jurgen Klinsmann says that any true statement will have to come in the team’s performance against Germany.

“I hope that what we are capable of is becoming consistent,” Klinsmann said. “We surprised quite a lot of people with that result in Holland, but now it’s actually on us to take the same energy, the same approach, the same discipline and tempo against the world champions. This is what we will talk to the players about. They showed real courage and a lot of good elements.

“We still have to correct a couple of mistakes we did against Holland, but now keep the same approach. You’ve got to do it again. We’re hoping that over time it becomes a lifestyle that we always expect the best from ourselves in training and in the game, and there’s nothing bigger than a game against the world champions. It’s going to be the highest benchmark that we’ve experienced so far.”

Calling Germany the USMNT’s highest benchmark is quite the compliment from Klinsmann given the team’s recent defeat of the Netherlands. But in many ways the final friendly of the June camp will be just that.

Led by superstars from across the world’s top leagues, Germany has one of the most vicious and deep rosters in the game. Klinsmann, who has a 1-1-0 record against the Germans during his tenure as USMNT coach, has seen firsthand just how ruthless the German team could be, especially in last year’s World Cup group stage clash. The U.S. lost that game, 1-0.

For midfielder Mix Diskerud, the opportunity to take on such a strong opponent is a welcome one, and will provide a major test for the team.

“We match up against the best, the best players. It doesn’t really get better than that,” Diskerud said. “It’s going to be sold out, hopefully, and we’ll need all the support we can get, but we want to compete and match-up to see how we can compete against the players who you watch on TV every single weekend.”

“If you were a player and you get a chance to play against Germany, against the world champions, against all of those names that had the World Cup trophy a year ago in their hands, it’s just wonderful,” added Klinsmann. “We will tell the players to just rise to the occasion. Enjoy that moment, but give it your all. Really go at them and give them a fight. Show the character that you already showed with the Holland game, and after the game with Germany we’ll have a lot more answers to many of our questions about every individual player and about the entire team.”

Those answers will prove to me important going forward, as the U.S. prepares for the upcoming Gold Cup in July.

With a test against two European superpowers serving as a major benchmark, both Klinsmann and defender DeAndre Yedlin believe a solid performance against Germany is essential in preparation for what will certainly be a trying Gold Cup title defense.

“It’s the best team in the world,” Yedlin said. “There are not many teams you’ll see, if any, that are better than they are. Obvoiously there are days when other teams are very good, but for the most part you’re not going to see a team better than this right now. We know if we can compete well against this team, we should be fine in the Gold Cup.”