SOLDIER FIELD (Chicago) After a terrible start to the game, conceding off a free kick in the second minute, the United States grew into Saturday's friendly against Germany. The Americans slowly got into a rhythm after Kai Havertz's header opened the scoring. They probably should have had a second goal outside Antonee "Jedi" Robinson's volley in the 37th minute. Instead, the U.S. is heading into its World Cup opener against Paraguay with a loss. Here are my player ratings for the United States' starting XI against Germany. (Ratings are out of 10.) You need players who can step up and create big moments. That's exactly what Antonee did. I dare him to try to score a better goal! That was a fantastic strike, and the timing of it was so important, getting the U.S. level going into halftime. Robinson is one of the most important players for Mauricio Pochettino, so the fact that he went down in the second half before having to walk slowly off the field was not encouraging. We'll keep our fingers crossed that it was nothing more than cramps. This was a very different game for the U.S. in how it was structured compared to Senegal last week. That didn't stop Christian from finding ways to be a threat on the ball. He had an early long ball that almost put Sergio Dest through on goal, and he was constantly getting on the ball and looking to dribble into space. Overall, an encouraging two games for the USA's most dangerous attacker. He looks confident and hungry heading into the World Cup. I like the freedom that Dest has in this system to push higher up the pitch. He had an early chance on that long ball from Pulisic that I mentioned, which is an example of how important he'll be in attack for the U.S. He didn't have the same impact as last week against Senegal, but I like that Sergio is always willing to make himself dangerous in the attacking third and take risks. Balogun found it a little more difficult against Germany than he did in the second half against Senegal last week, although he still had some moments when he looked a threat. I would have liked to see Flo turn one of his half-chances into a better look at goal or better yet score. His work rate was tremendous, though. A big moment for Tillman, starting this game against a lot of players he's familiar with, having been born in Germany. Malik can play in midfield or higher up the pitch, which was evident from his starting position. Sometimes he stayed higher up the pitch, while other moments saw him drop deeper to help build the attack. Finding a balance between where he plays and Weston McKennie when he makes his runs forward from midfield will be important. Overall, he helped create a couple chances and did a good job pressing the German defense. Adams committed a silly early foul that led to the free kick that saw Havertz open the scoring for Germany. Like the rest of the team, though, he responded well. I thought Tyler offered a lot of personality in midfield against a quality opponent. He showed his leadership with some key tackles in midfield that started some U.S. attacks in transition. Weston had some moments that showed why he's so important to this team. He will slot into midfield next to Adams this summer, which allows him to make an impact on both sides of the ball. Wes brings a lot of energy and combativeness to midfield. He'll need to be at his very best next week against Paraguay. Overall, I think Freese was solid on the night. I'm not going to blame him for either of the two goals that were conceded. This game showed that he will be in net against Paraguay next week and is the USA No. 1 goalkeeper ahead of Matt Turner. Freeman has earned his starting spot as the right center back in the USA's back three. He played well last week against Senegal and held his own against a tougher opponent. Alex can play as a right back, as well as more centrally in defense. That versatility will be important at the World Cup, starting with the game against Paraguay. Ream started as the left center back for the U.S. and was clearly targeted by Germany. For the most part, he held his own and didn't allow the Germans to exploit his lack of pace. Tim is a veteran, and his experience showed in his calmness on the ball and ability to pass out of the back under pressure. That should come in handy. Robinson didn't do enough to track Havertz on the opening goal. He followed that up with some good moments, as well as some shaky ones, for the rest of the first half. Chris Richards expressed optimism this week that he'll be ready to take his place at the center of the U.S. defense against Paraguay on Friday. If he isn't, the question is whether Robinson has shown enough to convince Pochettino that he should start over Mark McKenzie, who played the first 45 minutes last week against Paraguay and finished this game.