Can Christian Pulisic stay hot and will Mauricio Pochettino slow Jamal Musiala? Five keys for USMNT vs Germany

Pochettino was full of praise for Sebastian Berhalter after the Senegal game.

"He could play two games in a row," the USMNT boss said. "He's a monster... He doesn't play at 100 percent; he plays at 200 percent."

The Argentine believes in Berhalter and is taking this chance to build him up. Is that because Berhalter is set to play a bigger role this summer than many would think?

When the USMNT squad was unveiled, many expected Weston McKennie to slide back next to old partner Tyler Adams to form the two-man midfield. That's despite the fact that Pochettino has said he prefers McKennie higher up the field, where his style of play benefits from increased freedom. So, how do you get McKennie higher up? Well, you give Adams a different partner. Might it be Berhalter?

The Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder played the most minutes against Senegal, so there may not be an extended runout. If there is, though, it'll be his biggest test yet. He showed good things against Senegal, but also had some moments that need to be cleaned up against the best of the best. That's what Germany are, which makes this game a good preview of what the World Cup could look like if Berhalter does indeed play a big role.

Champagne problems! "Oh no," Pochettino must be thinking, "all my strikers are creating goals!"

It is a problem he'll have to solve, though, not this weekend but next.

Against Senegal, Ricardo Pepi started and was instrumental in each of the USMNT's first two goals. Then Folarin Balogun came on and scored one on a day when he surely could have had more. Meanwhile, Haji Wright was one of three USMNT players not to play, which means his résumé is supported by his brace against group opponent Australia in the fall.

All of that is to say that the USMNT strikers are in good form, both for their clubs and for country. So what does Pochettino do against Germany? If Pepi and Balogun are the ones really jostling for the starting job, do they each get 45 minutes again? If Wright gets in there, which of those two doesn't?

Pochettino surely has a plan and, fortunately for him, all three players are worthy of being part of it.

Every coach will have a different approach to pre-tournament friendlies. We don't fully know Pochettino's. He rolled with, essentially, two different teams against Senegal, and those teams looked and played fairly differently. So, in this game against Germany, does he do something similar, or does he put out something resembling a first-choice lineup to get them ready for the games to come?

There's merit to both choices. No coach wants to show their hand, particularly ahead of a World Cup, so it could be in Pochettino's best interest to be somewhat sneaky. That said, there are a finite number of huge surprises that a team can throw out this late in the cycle, so what would sneaky even look like?

However, you also don't want to show everything. A first-choice XI builds chemistry, yes, but it also puts patterns of play, sequences and ideas on film for Paraguay, Australia and Turkey to study. Surely, then, Pochettino will save some sort of wrinkle for the big day. Maybe not all of them, but something.

Chris Richards won't be that wrinkle. His status remains something of a mystery, but U.S. Soccer said the defender was "progressing" in his recovery earlier this week. He did not progress enough to feature this weekend, although he did train with the group on Friday.

"He is not ready to compete or play," Pochettino said. "Yes, I think, after that game, in the next few days, we will assess him and see."

Pochettino later continued: "When you say to me, 'Chris Richards, is he going to play tomorrow?', maybe if this was the final of the World Cup, he can play, but the advice of the medical area is not to play."

So how does this team actually line up? Only Pochettino knows and, in truth, there are several ways it could go.

At the last World Cup, we saw several USMNT dual nationals face countries close to their hearts. Antonee Robinson and Yunus Musah started against England, while Sergino Dest was there to take on the Netherlands. Now, on the road to this World Cup, Malik Tillman faces Germany. That'll be special.

Born in Nuremberg, Tillman's soccer career has primarily unfolded in Germany. He came through at Greuther Furth and Bayern Munich before making his name at Rangers and PSV. Last summer, he returned to the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen. He's been involved with Germany internationally, too, featuring for them up to the U-21 level. Now, on Saturday, he faces Germany at the senior level.

"It's amazing," he told reporters Thursday. "I've been waiting for this game. Obviously, it'll be very special for myself and my family. It's going to be a great game and very emotional as well."

It's not just about feel-good stories, though. Tillman is fighting for a starting spot or, at the very least, a place as an impact substitute. As an attacking player, the best way to earn chances is to create danger, and Tillman surely can do that. Doing so against Germany, though? That's hard, and Tillman will know that better than anyone.

It was somewhat surprising to see Matt Turner start against Senegal. It was very surprising to see Chris Brady start the second half. Surely, Matt Freese plays this game but, given what we just saw last time out, it's hard to really grasp where the goalkeeper position stands right now.

There's a possibility that Freese is still the clear No. 1 in Pochettino's eyes and the last game was a chance to throw the other goalkeepers a bone and boost their confidence in case they are needed. You can see the logic in that, as every player on the roster, including the goalkeepers, needs to be ready in case of injury.

Or it could just be that a decision still needs to be made. Maybe Senegal was one more test for Turner and Germany is one more test for Freese. Maybe there is some sort of weight on Freese's shoulders and some sort of pressure to go out there and solidify his place.

No matter the specific scenario, it's worth watching the goalkeepers because, at the very least, whoever plays in goal should expect to be tested by this talented German team.