The US National Team hosted Peru on Saturday in Florida at the home of Orlando City FC and with a team full of youngsters, came away with an emphatic 4-1 victory.
The game against Peru was impressive, to say the least. And sure, we should celebrate this victory and every victory, especially with the number of youth and first caps in the line-up but hey, let’s not get carried away just yet.
Eleven players earned their first caps and among them, eight are still in their teens and amazingly, two of them found the back of the net. This is amazing, regardless of the opponent on the day and the fact that it was just a friendly.
The important thing is that this is was the beginning of the new cycle for the 2030 World Cup and these young men could be the ones leading the way. Sure, they’re teenagers now but in four years they’ll be in their 20s and have four more years of experience under their collective belts, and hopefully at a level higher than MLS.
First, I think it’s only right to give our head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, a pat on the back. He decided that instead of sticking to the old guard that it was early enough to give youth a chance. This will be his team for the full cycle, and he will have those four years to work with them and get the team qualified. He was appointed to the job with less than two years before the World Cup, back in August 2024 and he had already qualified, with the USA being one of the hosts.
And let’s not call the Peru game meaningless. Sure, for soccer purists, it is little meaning with nothing at stake and a chance to play anybody the coach feels like playing. It means little to the hardcore fans, but it is a great opportunity for the coach to uncover a diamond in the rough. Maybe even three.
Peyton Miller, Justin Ellis and Cavan Sullivan just might be the trio that lead the national team into the next World Cup.
Miller impresses me the most. At just 18-years-old his numbers this season, regardless of his age, warranted a call-up to put on the American shirt. As a defender/winger, he has scored seven times for the New England Revolution and has clocked up 1700 minutes. The oldest of the three, I feel that he should put in another season in MLS and make the jump to Europe.
Nineteen-year-old Justin Ellis has potential, but was a call-up warranted? As I alluded to, in a friendly, the coach can justify calling up anybody that he wants. He decided on the Orlando City home-grown player and the young man thanked Ponch for the faith by scoring on his debut in his club stadium.
The youngest of the bunch, Cavan Sullivan, makes his living in the middle of the field for the Philadelphia Union. He has been hyped to be the next best thing to come out of American soccer, so much so that the 16-year-old is set to join disgraced Premier League team, Manchester City when he turns 18. (As things are progressing for Citeh, he could be starting for them in League One or League Two.)
Time for a reality check. There have been many hyped players throughout soccer and that includes the USMNT program. On too many occasions a player is ‘chosen’ as the saviour of the American game even before he has time to really learn his craft. The pressure arrives before the experience is gained. Let’s look at a few examples.
The obvious one is Freddy Adu. The Ghanaian-born American made his MLS debut at just 14 years old. Unfortunately for the now 37-year-old, some sportswriter called him the next Pele and the pressure was on. He did pick up 17 senior caps and even played in the 2008 Olympics. He just couldn’t measure up to the hype and had almost as many clubs as he did American caps, playing for 15 different clubs in nine different countries. It didn’t even come close to working out for him.
If you think, well, that’s a one-off, that’s Freddy, you’d be dead wrong. Gedion Zelalem was going to be ‘the man’ for the USA. He was discovered at a relatively young age and when he was 17 signed for Arsenal FC and was being compared to Cesc Fabregas, as well as one of American soccer’s most exciting prospects. But he never lived up to the hype. He ended up playing for nine different teams, played at youth level for both Germany and the United States, but never received a senior cap. He was last spotted playing for New Mexico United in the USL Championship.
And let’s not forget Bobby Convey, Santino Quaranta, Julian Green and Eddie Johnson. Granted, Johnson did score 19 times in 63 games for the national team but was hailed as a teenage superstart and never lived up to expectations. He failed miserably in Europe leagues and returned to MLS where he did OK for the Seattle Sounders.
These are but a few of many who coulda, shoulda, woulda been the brightest starts ever to don the red, white and blue jersey. I’ll spare you the rest.
It’s not just the USA. International soccer is full of teenagers who shine in their first appearance but soon realize that doing it against a rebuilding Peruvian team in a September friendly is really different than going up against Spain, Brazil, France or Belgium in a World Cup knockout game.
Let’s not let that happen to these American kids by pushing them too far or too fast, while they still have a lot of learning and growing to do. They’re full of potential sure, but they’re still kids. Let’s not start proclaiming them as our golden generation after one night in Orlando.
