Cavan Sullivan became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the United States men’s national team on Saturday, chipping home from long range just days after his 17th birthday, as a young US side beat Mexico 3-0. Julian Hall, 18, and Malik Tillman were the other scorers, capping a composed win that arrived in front of a sizable pro-Mexico contingent at State Farm Stadium.
The last time the two nations met in that building, Jimmy Conrad and Landon Donovan scored in one of several 2-0 US victories. Eight players in the US squad on Saturday had not yet been born when that happened. The match also marked Tyler Adams’ first outing as captain under Mauricio Pochettino, and the crowd was as close as the US have come to an away game since 2024: the tailgates produced far more fajitas than frankfurters, and the red seats filled with green jerseys as the anthems played.
That imbalance of support reflected the early balance of play. Mexico came out with intent while the nominal hosts struggled to move the ball, and all four US defenders found it hard to pass through Mexico’s aggressive man-marking. The United States adjusted after five minutes of sustained pressure, leaning on goalkeeper Kochen’s ability with the ball by taking short goal kicks, with Auston Trusty prodding restarts to the young keeper. The cautious approach blunted El Tri’s attack but did little to spark the US going forward: after 15 minutes, Mexico had recorded 38 touches in the opposing half to the United States’ five, and by the 28th minute the stadium had been lulled into quiet observation.
Then the hosts struck. Sebastian Berhalter lobbed a ball to the right flank for Alex Freeman, who drew Mexico’s attention, feigned a retreat and rolled a through-ball between two opponents for Gio Reyna to collect in stride inside the box. Reyna tried to centre, Raúl Rangel flubbed his attempt to claim the low cross and shanked the ball straight to Hall, who made no mistake with a first-time finish across goal. It was his third US goal in as many caps, and he turned to cup his ears in front of the American Outlaws.
Playing without Gilberto Mora and Hirving Lozano, Mexico struggled to convert plenty of possession into quality, taking just four shots by the 40-minute mark and none on target, while repeatedly fouling Tillman when he advanced. Their best chance of the half came from a moment of reverse deja vu: a speculative Luís Romo effort to the far post forced Kochen into a clumsy diving save, and his spill fell to Santiago Giménez inside six yards — only for the Porto loanee to shank his attempt well wide. The visitors finally put a shot on goal in the 58th minute, Roberto Alvarado’s half-volley from a redirected corner parried over the bar by Kochen.
Just after the hour, Rangel collected a back pass from Érik Lira and took his time while positioned far upfield, his undercooked pass to Diego Campillo instead finding Sullivan, the leader of the US’ makeshift press. Rather than retain possession, Sullivan stopped the ball’s progress and chipped Rangel, curling his effort underneath the crossbar before clattering into the corner flag as his teammates converged and he patted the US crest over his heart.
A Mexican meltdown followed. In the 67th minute, Yunus Musah’s attempt to dribble upfield was thwarted by a Mateo Chavez kick through the legs, bringing both teams together in a confrontation as referee Selvin Brown showed a red card to the AZ Alkmaar defender. Mexico’s supporters, who have for years soundtracked opponents’ goal kicks with a homophobic slur, directed the chant at Rangel’s restarts, with the stadium operators declining to follow through on pre-match threats to stop the game if it emerged. The fans also booed Rangel’s every touch. He struggled with the unusual jeering: another poor back pass, this time from Álvaro Fidalgo, rolled into the box with Rangel staying near his goalline hoping a centre-back would collect, and Tillman strode on to the loose ball and placed it into the upper corner in the 85th minute, turning what had looked a comfortable day for Mexico into humiliation. In the build-up, Adams had spoken about how the winner of this fixture tends to be seen as the region’s current power. This time the US took that power because it was given, and taken advantage of.