It was reasonable to expect that Mauricio Pochettino’s first United States squad after this summer’s World Cup would turn the page for a new cycle. Instead, given the youthfulness of his selections, even a fast-forward reference feels like too dated a reference. Cavan Sullivan is poised to make his US senior debut, with the 16-year-old chosen for Pochettino’s 28-man squad for the September/October window.
The Philadelphia Union phenom is one of 13 players who could debut for the national team in the coming weeks, with four friendlies to be played across the country. Should he see the field, Sullivan would become the fourth-youngest player to represent the US, a record still held by Freddy Adu. Several members of the World Cup squad have been omitted to make way for the youth movement.
Christian Pulisic misses out after a slow start to his season with Milan, where he has been a bench option for Ruben Amorim. Weston McKennie is also absent, having missed most of Juventus’s young season with muscle fatigue. Folarin Balogun misses out too, probably due to a lack of minutes after his failed transfer to Everton.
In total, nine selections enter this window with at least 30 senior caps: defenders Chris Richards, Miles Robinson, Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest; midfielders Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah, Malik Tillman and Gio Reyna; and striker Ricardo Pepi. Eight of those players was part of Pochettino’s 2026 World Cup squad, while Musah has been called up for the first time since before the 2025 Gold Cup. Other returnees from the World Cup include Matt Freese, Chris Brady, Alex Freeman, Auston Trusty and Sebastian Berhalter.
It’s a new cycle,” Pochettino said. Soccer is about today, and that is the way that we want to build that process in this cycle.” Sullivan has been in blistering form with Philadelphia, earning a place in interim coach Ryan Richter’s lineup after MLS’s World Cup break. The Union academy product has six goals and five assists in 1,368 league minutes this year, stoking incredible hype.
Sullivan turns 17 on 28 September, two days after the USMNT’s first friendly (against Peru) and on the eve of their second (against Chile). He’s joined by a pair of club teammates for their shared first camp, defenders Neil Pierre and Frankie Westfield. He’s only 16, he’s a kid, but I think the most important is that we have the opportunity now because he deserved to join us in the national team.” Pochettino has picked several more of the country’s most promising prospects.
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