Cavan Sullivan just wanted to hug his mom and dad.<\/p>\n
The U.S. men\u2019s national team prodigy \u2014 who celebrated his 17th birthday on Monday \u2014 was less than two hours removed from becoming the second-youngest starter in the program\u2019s 113-year history, going a solid 62 minutes in Saturday\u2019s 4-1 friendly win over Peru at Orlando’s Inter&Co Stadium that marked the start of a new World Cup cycle.<\/p>\n
When it was over, Sullivan rose from the bench, looked up into the stands behind the USA\u2019s bench and waved to his parents, friends and the former youth coaches who had made the trip to Orlando to watch his debut. Then he strode into the tunnel in the southwest corner of the stadium and disappeared.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The hug will have to wait.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I didn’t get to see them,” Sullivan told reporters shortly before boarding the team bus and heading to the airport to catch the charter flight back to Atlanta and U.S. Soccer\u2019s sprawling new training facility. “I know now for next time that I can find a way to bring them down here.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
(Photo by Mark Thorstenson\/ISI Photos\/ISI Photos via Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n Off the field, Sullivan obviously still has plenty to learn. On it, he\u2019s clearly well ahead of his years. With seven goals and nine assists in his last nine games for his hometown Philadelphia Union, it was no surprise that Sullivan became just the fourth 16-year-old to represent the Stars and Stripes on Saturday and the first in more than 20 years, or that he was in U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s lineup from the beginning, or that he appeared almost as comfortable against the Peruvians as the seven World Cup veterans who were also in the former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain manager\u2019s starting XI. His opportunity was earned.<\/p>\n So don\u2019t be shocked if Pochettino goes right back to Sullivan when the Americans meet Chile in St. Louis on Tuesday night. With rivalry games looming against regional nemeses Mexico and Canada to close out FIFA\u2019s extended four-game international window early next month, Pochettino seems more likely to ask two-time World Cup veteran Sergi\u00f1o Dest to man the right wing for the majority of those games.<\/p>\n Sullivan will be ready however many minutes he gets against El Tri and Les Rouges.<\/p>\n (Photo by Alex Menendez\/USSF\/Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n Over the last week, Sullivan\u2019s introduction to the national team has been aided both by vets like Adams and the presence of his peers; seven other teenagers also made their debuts on Saturday. The majority of them will inevitably return to the U.S. under-20 and -23 national teams after this camp, with the latter providing the core of the USA squad for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. But a few of the newcomers will have a chance to stick with the big boys. Sullivan, who is scheduled to leave Philly for Manchester City next year, tops the list.<\/p>\n “He’s got a load of talent,” U.S. vet Gio Reyna told me in Orlando. “I\u2019m looking forward to continue to see him develop.”<\/p>\n Racking up a few more caps over the next week\u2014plus, can only speed up that process. Though Sullivan has adjusted quickly to the increase in speed and intensity, the Mexico and Canada games will both ratchet up to another level. Having experienced teammates next to him will help.<\/p>\n “When you’re surrounded by players with such high quality,” he said, “It makes it so much easier.”<\/p>\n The 5-foot-7 Sullivan might not even be finished growing yet. But he\u2019s been playing against men since turning pro at 14. Depending on how these next matches go, Pochettino could bring him back for next month\u2019s Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals. Either way, he figures to be a senior team regular sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n Christian Pulisic, the country\u2019s most gifted attacker and a player to whom Sullivan is often compared, has been a mainstay since he was 17. Same for Reyna. Adams was 18 when he won the first of his 59 caps. Sullivan\u2019s now on the same path, but what\u2019s impressed Reyna the most isn\u2019t the youngster’s ability. “[He\u2019s a] really, really hard worker,” Reyna said. “I think we’re all still getting to know him, but he’s been great so far.”<\/p>\n “He\u2019s been himself,” 25-year-old midfielder Sebastian Berhalter told me during a videoconference with reporters Monday before the team flew to St. Louis. “That\u2019s all you ask for. And we’re here to help him and guide him along the way.”<\/p>\n Cavan Sullivan Makes USA Debut At Age 16, Youngest Since Freddy Adu<\/p>\n The Kids Are Alright: 4 Takeaways As Youngsters Propel USA To Victory<\/p>\n International Break Preview: Messi’s Farewell, Spain-England, USA-Mexico, More<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BROWSE BY Cavan Sullivan just wanted to hug his mom and dad. The U.S. men\u2019s national team prodigy \u2014 who celebrated his 17th birthday on Monday \u2014 was less than two hours removed from becoming the second-youngest starter in the program\u2019s 113-year history, going a solid 62 minutes in Saturday\u2019s 4-1 friendly win over Peru […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":7372,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7373"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7373\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}