Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando) — The U.S. men’s national team’s long road toward the 2030 World Cup is off to a winning start.
In the USA’s first match since being eliminated from the 2026 event by Belgium in the round of 16, the Stars and Stripes got goals from veterans Malik Tillman and Sebastian and teenage debutants Justin Ellis and Julian Hall to defeat Peru 4-1 on Saturday at the home of MLS side Orlando City in the first of four exhibitions over the next week-and-a-half.
Here are my takeaways following Saturday’s victory.
Two days shy of his 17th birthday, the Philadelphia Union phenom became the youngest player to appear for the U.S. since Freddy Adu more than 20 years ago and the second youngest to start a match, after Mike Slivinski all the way back in 1991.
(Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)
Deployed by coach Mauricio Pochettino on the right wing — the same spot at which he’s piled up goals and assists for his hometown club since MLS returned from its World Cup hiatus in mid-July — Sullivan didn’t look at all out of place.
Despite the huge jump in speed of play at the international level, the 16-year-old wasn’t physically over matched. He played his passes quickly and occasionally flashed the skill that led Manchester City to come to an agreement with Philly that he’ll move overseas when he turns 18 a year from now. He even picked up a yellow card following a tangle with veteran Peruvian keeper Pedro Gallese. (The caution from Jamaican referee Steffon Dewar was dubious, as Sullivan appeared to be pushed into Gallese by one of his own defenders.)
It was a fine debut all in all, and the first of many appearances for a player who could be a key part of the U.S. program for more than a decade to come.
Sullivan wasn’t the only teenager to make his debut for the Stars and Stripes on Saturday. With two-time World Cup veteran Antonee “Jedi” Robinson on the bench, 18-year-old Peyton Miller – who has played on the wing for the New England Revolution this season – returned to his usual spot at left back.
The fleet-footed Miller also performed well, even if he got caught on the wrong side of Gianluca Lapadula on Peru’s first-half equalizer. His ability to stretch the field was apparent when he was able to isolate defenders and beat them to the end line, which he did on multiple occasions. (Jedi replaced Miller a little after the hour mark.)
(Photo by Eston Parker/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
And the same goes for 23-year-old AC Milan midfielder Yunus Musah, who made his first appearance for his country since early 2025. Musah started all four games for the U.S. at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but didn’t make the roster four years later after skipping last year’s Gold Cup for personal reasons and then struggling for playing time on loan to Atalanta during the 2025-26 Italian Serie A season.
Pochettino said on Friday that he would’ve rather had more training time and fewer than four games during FIFA’s new extended September/October window, games that were scheduled before he inked his new four-year contract with the U.S. Soccer Federation in August.
(Photo by Alex Menendez/USSF/Getty Images)
