Cavan Sullivan, 17, became the youngest scorer in United States men's national team history with a stunning goal in Saturday's 3-0 win over Mexico in Glendale, Arizona. Sullivan scored in the 62nd minute, intercepting a pass from goalkeeper Raúl Rangel midway inside the Mexico half before lobbing the ball expertly into the unguarded net. At 17 years and five days old, he broke the previous record held by Christian Pulisic (17 years, 253 days). "It's the biggest pinch [me moment] ever," Sullivan told TNT Sports. "These are moments you dream of since you're 3, 4, 5, 6 years old. I manifested this moment, not just these past couple hours when I found out I was starting but my whole life."
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino praised Sullivan after the match, saying, "He's a fighter, he's a warrior. It's difficult to find this type of player. Tremendous quality."
The memorable strike made it 2-0 for a youthful U.S. team. Another teenager, 18-year-old Julian Hall, opened the scoring in the first half off an assist from Gio Reyna. In doing so, Hall became just the third player to score in each of his first three appearances for the USMNT. Mateo Chávez received a red card in the 67th minute to compound a miserable night for Mexico. Malik Tillman capped the scoring with his third goal in his past four USMNT appearances in the 84th minute.
Saturday's win snapped a two-game losing streak for the U.S. against Mexico and was its biggest margin of victory in the series since the 2023 Concacaf Nations League semifinals. Mexico's Rafael Márquez lost his first game as head coach in the heated rivalry.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing