Add James Sands and Malik Tillman to the list of U.S. men’s national team players in this year’s Champions League group stage.
The USMNT duo both played a major role as Rangers defeated PSV 1-0 on Wednesday night, giving them a 3-2 aggregate victory that sends the Scottish side into Thursday’s draw. Manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst started Tillman as his No. 10 in a 4-2-3-1 formation, while Sands took up his usual spot at center back as both USMNT players went the full 90 minutes.
Rangers started well, with Tillman creating their best early look only for Tom Lawrence to blaze it wide in the 25th minute. Tillman and Sands were among the best players on the field for either team, with Rangers’ attacks nearly always involving the former Bayern Munich academy product. At the other end, Sands and the Glaswegian club’s defense gave up little, frustrating the crowd in Eindhoven and keeping the game manageable for Rangers.
Tillman also ended up with the assist on the goal that took them through, pouncing on a massive mistake on the hour mark as Rangers scored the game’s only goal. PSV goalkeeper Walter Benítez passed to André Ramalho, who Tillman pressured immediately. Tillman won the ball cleanly, drew Benítez, and squared for Antonio Colak to tap into an empty net.
USMNT midfielder Malik Tillman could have just assisted the goal that sends Rangers into the #UCL knockout stage. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/JsGSAgVVbw
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) August 24, 2022
It was the second decisive moment for Tillman in this Champions League qualifying campaign. His first goal at the club completed a remarkable comeback in the previous round, as they overturned a two-goal deficit to advance past Union Saint-Gilloise. That moment was instantly lionized on the blue side of Glasgow, with fans doing a “Tillman Header Challenge” outside of Ibrox.
From there, though, the game came down to Rangers doing wonderful work in killing the game off effectively, with PSV never having much of a look of note. Sands played a prominent role at center back, coming through numerous aeriel duels as PSV grew more desperate.
The win sees Rangers back into the group stage for the first time since the 2010-11 edition. Tillman and Sands will join a large group of USMNT-eligible players in the group stage, with Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Gio Reyna (Dortmund), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona, at least for the time being), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Owen Otasowie (Club Brugge), Timothy Chandler (Eintract Frankfurt), and Josh Cohen (Maccabi Haifa).
[lawrence-related id=6412,5997,1887]