USMNT Debutants Successful Against Peru

By Daniel Feuerstein | Orlando, FL | September 26th, 2026

The U.S. Men’s National Team starts a brand new cycle for the road to the 2030 FIFA World Cup opened the new four-year campaign for head coach Mauricio Pochettino as his team opens against Peru at Inter&Co Stadium in Central Florida. It was an amazing debut for multiple players who made their trade inside Major League Soccer, growing up inside their respective clubs’ academies and translating it to the International stage was fantastic, and after the full 90 minutes were done, it was the USA who came out with a huge victory against a solid South American side as they defeated Peru by the final score of four goals to one.

Homegrown player opens the scoring

An early goal for the USA came as a foul was called on Peru and they earned a free kick along the near side of the pitch. Standing at the ball were Gio Reyna and Cavan Sullivan as they surveyed the situation. When the whistle blew, Reyna took the free kick and bent it towards the area. Making the run inside the area was Orlando City Striker Justin Ellis as he positioned himself with a defender on him and leapt for the ball with a redirected header to put the ball on frame. As the ball was struck, it rainbowed high, started to drop, slightly turned toward the far post, and went just off the far post & in at the fourth minute.

Peru earns an equalizer

After a fantastic start for the USMNT, these young kids showed their immaturity on the defensive side. They went on the attack and held the ball to put themselves into position as the backline was spread out and tried to put themselves into an offside trap; it didn’t work as Yoshimar Yotun held the ball and delivered a pinpoint cross bending toward the back side of the USA area, and Gianluca Lapadula made the run and leapt in the air, making a header shot that just beat Matt Freese to the far post in the 15th minute. That would be the first and the last time the USA would make a defensive error in the match

Retake the lead on the spot

The USA got the lead back in the match as more young players were subbed in at the 61st minute, and the home side immediately created a big attacking run. Antonee Robinson, along the far side touchline, unleashed a fantastic ball toward Mathis Albert, and off to the races he went. When he approached the Peruvian area, he was taken down, and the referee pointed to the spot and gave the USA a penalty. While the replays showed the foul was committed outside the area, the referee ignored the Peruvians’ complaints and stuck to his decision. Malik Tillman stepped up to take the penalty and converted it to his left inside the far post in the 66th minute

Another debutant and another goal

After the corner kick failed, the USA got the ball back and regrouped. Zavier Gozo got control of the ball and sent it back to Antonee Robinson to reset the play. He delivered a hard cross all the way back to Sebastien Berhalter along the near side touchline and close to the corner. Berhalter delivered a long bending cross that went in front of the Peruvian goal, missed a few defenders and attackers, but making the run towards the far post was Julian Hall as he got himself into position and somehow put the outside of his right knee on the ball and scored his first international goal in the 72nd minute. The ball took a bounce before Hall got himself into position to score, and Inter&Co Stadium erupted.

Late Smasher Caps Afternoon Masterclass

After Austin Trusty helped stop an attacking run from Peru, he restarted the rush down the pitch. He quickly went back to Antonee Robinson. As he moved the ball, a quick pass toward Hall as he was hanging around inside the Peru area and saw Berhalter making a run towards him. Hall pulled in two defenders towards him, saw Berhalter coming down, and made the pass. After Berhalter collected the ball, took a touch, and then unleashed a big shot that was bending towards the inside of the near post and gave the exclamation point to a strong performance in the 90th minute.

Cavan Sullivan had a solid first match

The 16-year-old Philadelphia Union forward had a strong match. While he didn’t convert a chance, he was active and never showed any nerves or any concern out on the pitch. He demanded the ball and was always a threat on the pitch. He did earn his first yellow card in his international debut in the 20th minute when former Orlando City goalkeeper Pedro Gallese made a big stop, but didn’t know where the ball was. Sullivan tried to rush in and clean up the trash to score, but he was shoved by a Peruvian defender and accidentally got the goalkeeper in the back of his head.

MLS is glowing in this first international match

For the debutants who started or subbed in for Pochettino, these players include Gozo, who transferred to Crystal Palace; all originally came from the youth academies of Major League Soccer. Those clubs include Red Bull New York, the New England Revolution, Orlando City, Philadelphia Union, and many others that have gone directly through their own pipeline of talented players and used them in first-team matches. Getting first-team minutes and the future of the U.S. Men’s National Team is off to a strong start. While the hope is that some of these players could make a move to Europe, Major League Soccer deserves their flowers for developing these players and putting them in real matches for real minutes.

The U.S. Men’s National Team’s next match is on Tuesday, September 29th, as they travel to St. Louis, Missouri, and face Chile at Energizer Park. We will see who gets the start from Pochettino, and hopefully he can continue this good feeling going around the National Team and the fans.

The U.S. Men’s National Team defeats Peru four goals to one in exciting fashion.

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