USMNT to call up 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan for friendlies

Cavan Sullivan most recently scored two goals with an assist against San Diego. Photograph: Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images Philadelphia Union midfielder Cavan Sullivan is set to earn his first international call-up with the United States men’s national team later this month, a source with knowledge of the roster told the Guardian Wednesday morning. The source requested anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the roster. The US will face Chile, Peru, Mexico and Canada in late September, with US head coach Mauricio Pochettino expected to announce his roster on Wednesday morning. ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle was first to report news of Sullivan’s inclusion. Related: Watching Cavan Sullivan, excitement is tempered by memories of hypetrains past Sullivan, who turned pro at age 14 , has long been touted as a potential US international. His play since MLS resumed action after this summer’s World Cup has been a revelation, with six goals and eight assists in that period. That has earned him a look from Pochettino; earlier this month Sullivan earned Pochettino’s attention in an entirely different way when he suggested he may have proven a valuable contributor for the US this summer, when they crashed out in the last-16 against Belgium. “We are watching everything, we are seeing everything,” Pochettino told reporters at the time. “And of course, we want players with talent, players that feel brave, feel confident, but not [that] feel things that they still don’t show or they [haven’t] earned. I think you only are entitled to talk a little bit out of order if you are Messi. If you’ve won eight Ballon d’Ors, OK, you can talk with a certain arrogance.” If Sullivan appears for the US in this upcoming window he will become the second-youngest player ever to earn a cap for the USMNT, behind former phenom Freddy Adu, who was several months younger than Sullivan when he debuted in a 2006 friendly against Canada. Sullivan did manage to break another of Adu’s long-standing marks: he became the youngest player in the history of any major North American professional sport to appear in a match when he first took the field for the Union in 2024. Sullivan first inked his deal with the Union in May of that year, a contract that includes a potential transfer to English Premier League side Manchester City at age 18.