Malik Tillman was first to find out about the big family news. Both he and his big brother, Timmy, had been invited to U.S. men’s national soccer team training camp ahead of a fabled summer competition, Copa América.
Malik, 22, had been in Coach Gregg Berhalter’s roster pool for a few years, and Timmy, 25, received his first call-up this winter. Now, for the first time, they were on the same list.
And so as a new day dawned in the Dutch city of Eindhoven a few weeks ago, Malik started a group chat with Timmy and their mother, Anja.