The youth movement is officially underway for the United States men's national team as they defeated Peru 4-1 on Saturday in Orlando. Cavan Sullivan became the second-youngest player to ever play for the national team at 16, but it was teenagers Justin Ellis and Julian Hall who stole the show, scoring alongside Malik Tillman to start off this extended break on the right foot.
After being knocked out of the World Cup in the round of 16, the USMNT are officially able to flip the page, and the future of this squad is bright. Three teenagers started the match against Peru, and from the opening moments, they looked like they belonged as Gio Reyna set up Orlando City man Ellis in his home stadium for the opening goal. There were the expected growing pains that come with such a young squad, as Gianluca Lapadula scored for Peru on a defensive breakdown, but those moments were few and far between.
For the first camp of a team that largely hasn't played together, that has to go down as a job well done for Mauricio Pochettino, who is in the midst of a moment to truly put his own stamp on the national team by leading the next generation. Tillman's game has already grown under the Argentine manager, as he was one of the best performers at the World Cup, and that continued facing Peru as Tillman was involved in every aspect of the game, even if his goal may have come from a penalty. Even Yunus Musah capitalized on being back in the national team, going a perfect 38 for 38 on passes after breaking back into the Milan squad. Eleven of the 13 uncapped players called into camp got their first USMNT caps during the match, and they all looked like they belonged. Brian Schwake and Cole Campbell are the only players still in search of their first caps, but with games against Chile, Mexico, and Canada remaining, those could still be on the horizon.
With the mixture of youth, the experienced players also ensured that they performed too, with Sebastian Berhalter leading the way with a goal and an assist. It's hard to ask for a better start to the September/October break than that.
