Sixteen-year-old Cavan Sullivan became the youngest player to start a game for the United States since Freddy Adu in 2006 when he was picked in Mauricio Pochettino‘s XI on Saturday for a friendly against Peru.
Sullivan’s stellar form for the Philadelphia Union in MLS earned him his first callup for the USMNT. He has seven goals and 12 assists in 26 games for the Union, who have surged up to sixth place in the Eastern Conference in recent weeks.
With the start, Sullivan becomes the fourth-youngest player (16 years, 362 days) to earn a cap for the U.S. and the youngest since Adu did so in 2006 at 16 years, 234 days. Sullivan turns 17 on Sept. 28.
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Sullivan made his MLS debut for the Union on July 17, 2024, at 14 years and 293 days old, becoming the youngest player to appear in a league match for a major professional sports league in the U.S. and Canada. He broke Adu’s previous record set in 2004 by 13 days.
Earlier this month, Sullivan scored in a third successive MLS game and in the process broke a record set by the onetime U.S. soccer prodigy Adu.
Pochettino said earlier this month that he and the staff needed to be “careful” in how they manage the young attacker. He was circumspect in his assessment of Sullivan at Friday’s pre-match news conference.
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“If we only talk about his performance, he’s doing really well in his club in Philadelphia. Talking only about that, I think he’s ready, but the rest of the players too,” Pochettino said about Sullivan. “He’s mature enough on the field.”
Following the game against Peru, the U.S. will play friendlies against Chile, Mexico and Canada over the course of the September/October international window.
