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Losing 3-1 to Germany was a humbling experience for the United States men's national team, and now to respond to that, they'll get to face a familiar foe in Ghana. This will be the fifth time that the USMNT have faced the black stars with three consecutive matches coming at World Cups in the past. During a window in which the USMNT are facing top sides, it will be easy to make this friendly feel like a competitive match. You could see the USMNT's disappointment when the final whistle blew against Germany and with simple tweaks, the result can be improved this time around.

Here's our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:


How to watch and odds

  • Date: Tuesday, Oct. 17 | Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
  • Location: GEODIS Park -- Nashville, Tennessee
  • TV: TNT  | Live stream: fubo (try for free)
  • Odds: United States -155; Draw +245; Ghana +410  (via Caesars Sportsbook) 

Looking to improve after facing Germany

Due to obligations from Concacaf and UEFA Nations League, it can be hard for the United States to schedule opposition on the level of Germany and Ghana, which is why this is such an important friendly for them. Since they're hosting the 2026 World Cup, Gregg Berhalter and the US Soccer Federation will need to get creative to provide the team with competitive matches since they won't have to go through qualifying, which is one of the reasons why they'll take part in the 2024 Copa America. Matches like this one are chances to prove themselves ahead of the competition and it's something that midfielder Brenden Aaronson spoke about on Morning Footy. 

"There's a lot of great things to take away. First of all, just having a game like Germany that we've played, playing a top team like that is always great," Aaronson said. "We haven't had many opportunities like that and I think playing them on the stage in Connecticut when it's a sold-out crowd is great for us. It taught us a lot and we've learned so many things."

When the United States are able to dominate Concacaf, it can be hard to spot where they need to improve, which is where losing to Germany can be quite a positive in the long run, as long as the team improves in those areas. Berhalter has already pointed out a need to maintain defensive shape and look for Folarin Balogun which will be things to look for when facing Ghana but Aaronson's words ring true, the USMNT needs more matches against top opposition and they'll only make it less of a shock when competition is stiffer at the World Cup. 

The United States has only lost consecutive games under Berhalter twice, most recently happening in 2019 so the odds are on a bounce back performance facing the Black Stars.

Prediction

With a few lineup tweaks especially Kristoffer Lund coming in at left back to push Sergino Dest back to his favored right side, the United States will turn things around with a victory and Balogun will score for good measure as well. Pick: United States 2, Ghana 1