The Kids Are Alright: USMNT’s Teenagers Take Down Mexico 3-0
Updated: 6 days ago
October 3, 2026 State Farm Stadium
A rivalry with a new look
The future of American soccer showed up early in Glendale on Saturday night. The USMNT beat Mexico 3-0 at State Farm Stadium, and the two goals that broke El Tri open came from players who are still teenagers.
Julian Hall, 18, scored in the 28th minute. Cavan Sullivan, who turned 17 on Monday, added the second in the 62nd. Malik Tillman closed it out late, and Mauricio Pochettino’s side finished the October window with three straight wins.
The crowd was mostly dressed in Mexican green. By the final whistle, the loudest people in the building were wearing red, white, and blue.
Julian Hall can’t stop scoring
Hall earned the starting striker job the hard way. He came into this game with two goals and an assist in just 99 minutes across the first two matches of the window, wins over Peru and Chile.
The opener came in the 28th minute. Alex Freeman sent Gio Reyna down the right, and Reyna whipped a cross into the box. Mexico’s keeper got a hand to it, but the deflection dropped right at the top of the six-yard box. Hall was there, and he hit it first time with his right foot, lacing it into the bottom left corner.
That’s three goals in his first three caps, and it puts the Manhattan native in rare company. Hall is just the third player in USMNT history to score in each of his first three appearances, joining Eddie Johnson (2004-05) and Alexander Rae (1937). He’s also the youngest player anywhere in international soccer to pull it off since Pelé did it for Brazil in 1957. And at 18 years and 194 days old, he’s the third-youngest player ever to score against Mexico.
For a program that has spent years hunting for a reliable No. 9, an 18-year-old who simply keeps showing up in the right spot is a very good problem to have.
Cavan Sullivan makes history
Sullivan got the start on the right side over Sergiño Dest, a choice that raised a few eyebrows before kickoff. He spent the night being pesky and hard to read, looking to link up with Hall, his teammate from the U.S. U17 World Cup squad.
He was moments from being subbed off when his chance came. Mexico’s keeper tried to play out from the back and put a pass straight to him. The Philadelphia Union star didn’t hesitate. He shot first time from roughly 35 yards and chipped it into the empty net.
With that goal, Sullivan became the youngest scorer in USMNT history. The record he broke was only four days old: Mathis Albert, also 17, set it on Tuesday against Chile. Two 17-year-olds trading a national record in the same week tells you everything about where this program is heading.
The World Cup hero who had a night to forget
This result hits harder because of who was in Mexico’s goal. Raúl “Tala” Rangel was one of the stories of the summer. He went into the World Cup as a backup, took over when Luis Ángel Malagón got hurt, and became the first Mexican keeper to keep four straight clean sheets at a single World Cup.
His double save against South Korea in Guadalajara, a foot block followed by a sprawling hand to stop the rebound, was called one of the saves of the tournament. It sealed first place in the group for Mexico.
On Saturday, that same keeper was at the center of both teenage goals. He misplayed Reyna’s cross for the first, then handed Sullivan the ball for the second. The kids deserve credit for punishing the mistakes instantly, because young players don’t always do that. But it’s worth remembering this was not a weak keeper. It was a great one having a bad night against a group of players who never stopped pressing.
It wasn’t just Hall and Sullivan
At the other end, 20-year-old Diego Kochen got a surprise start in goal and played all 90 minutes. His best moment was a sharp reflex save while the U.S. was only up 1-0, the kind of stop that keeps a rivalry game from turning.
The lineup mixed youth with experience. Eight starters were on this summer’s World Cup roster, including captain Tyler Adams, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, and Gio Reyna. Around them were the newcomers, and the veterans gave them room to play.
Mexico went down to ten men midway through the second half, and Malik Tillman put the game away in the closing minutes. Rafa Márquez will have to wait for his first win as Mexico’s manager.
A new captain for a new cycle
The night also marked the start of a new era for the armband. On Friday, Pochettino named Tyler Adams the team’s permanent captain, after Tim Ream retired from international soccer earlier in the week. Ream, 38, captained the U.S. at this summer’s World Cup and finished with 86 caps.
For Adams, it’s a return to a familiar role. He wore the armband at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar at just 23. Now 27 and in his fourth season at Bournemouth, he’s the bridge between the World Cup veterans and the teenagers chasing their spots.
Pochettino said Adams would lead the team through the cycle toward 2030. Saturday was his first match as permanent captain, and he walked off with a 3-0 win over Mexico and two teenage goal scorers to look after. (ESPN)
What it means
It’s a friendly, and October wins don’t hand out trophies. But this window answered the biggest question facing Pochettino after the World Cup: who comes next?
The answer is a wave of teenagers who are scoring right away. The U.S. beat Peru 4-1, Chile 4-2, and Mexico 3-0, with kids all over the score sheet. Hall, Sullivan, and Albert all came through the same U17 group, and they now look ready for the senior level.
There’s one more test before the window closes. The U.S. faces Canada on Tuesday, October 6, at Allianz Field in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Kickoff is at 8 p.m. ET on TNT, MAX, truTV, Universo, and Peacock. Hall will get a shot at making it four for four.
The next World Cup cycle has started, and it’s starting young. If Saturday night is any sign, Mexico will be seeing a lot of these names over the next decade.
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