Cavan Sullivan’s long-range chip highlights USMNT’s 3-0 win over Mexico | USA

The last time the United States and Mexico played in this building, Jimmy Conrad and Landon Donovan scored in one of the United States’ many 2-0 victories. On Saturday, the U.S. team included eight players who hadn’t yet been born when it happened.

The young United States, however, did better than their forebears, silencing a large pro-Mexican contingent in a composed 3-0 triumph that fully heralded the arrival of a new generation of exciting players. Cavan Sullivan, just days after turning 17, became the youngest scorer in program history with an eye-catching long-range shot. Julian Hall, 18, scored his third goal in as many matches. Malik Tillman capped the score in the 85th minute, humiliating a Mexico reduced to ten men after opening the match with much more force.

The United States hasn’t played an away game since 2024, but today they could be as close as they have been with a heavily pro-Mexican crowd. Tailgaters prepared far more fajitas than frankfurters, and the red seats at State Farm Stadium were filled by a copious influx of green jerseys as the anthems began for Tyler Adams’ first shift as Mauricio Pochettino’s captain.

The disparity in support was an apt embodiment of the initial balance of the match. Mexico came out of the gates with intent, while the nominal hosts struggled to win the ball back. Despite having a backline that could arguably be considered the first-choice option to start the cycle, the U.S. back four struggled to get through Mexico’s aggressive man-marking system.

After five minutes of Mexico maintaining a steady attack, the United States adapted. Drawing on Kochen’s experience playing from the back, the hosts opted for short restarts with Auston Trusty delivering goal kicks to his young goalkeeper. The conservative approach dampened El Tri’s attack, but did little to trigger his own. After 15 minutes, Mexico had managed to achieve 38 touches in the opponent’s half, compared to five for the United States.

In the 28th minute, as the hosts struggled to keep Mexico from touching the ball, the State Farm Stadium crowd was lulled into silent observation.

Then the United States struck.

Sebastian Berhalter lofted a ball down the right flank towards Alex Freeman, who caught Mexico’s attention as he headed towards the corner. He feigned a retreat before skillfully rolling a ball between two opponents, Gio Reyna recovering the ball in stride inside the area. Reyna attempted to cross the ball in search of a target, leaving Raúl Rangel to fail in his attempt to collect a low cross, sending the ball straight into a hidden room. The New York striker made no mistake in his shot, scoring his first attempt in front of goal and away from Rangel.

The 18-year-old turned to the crowd and covered his ears at the American Outlaws, cheekily acknowledging the silent sect of Mexican support. The act of poaching gave Hall his third American goal in as many caps to strengthen his case for regular involvement throughout the cycle.

Mexico struggled to regain control of the match, frequently fouling Malik Tillman whenever he attempted to advance down the court. Playing without dynamic midfielder duo Gilberto Mora and Hirving Lozano, Mexico struggled to turn enough possession into real quality, with only four shots taken after 40 minutes and none landing on target. The sea of ​​green jerseys began to ripple, with waves of Mexican fans beating the lines for concessions and bathrooms with five minutes remaining in the half.

Their impatience prevented them from witnessing Mexico’s best chance of the half, in a moment of reverse déjà vu. A speculative attempt from Luís Romo at the far post forced Kochen into an awkward dive. Much like the sequence leading up to Hall’s opener, his spill fell directly to Santiago Giménez, giving Mexico a golden chance to equalize from six yards out. Instead, the Porto loanee placed his effort well wide of goal, sparing the USA’s blushes just before half-time.

The hosts didn’t hesitate once play resumed, sending the ball to Sullivan on the right flank and up the channel to Tillman or Reyna. The visitors finally had a shot on goal in the 58th minute, with Roberto Alvarado attempting a half-volley from a redirected corner. Kochen appeared over the bar with youthful ease, keeping his team in control with half an hour to go.

Both teams saw their intensity decrease a bit as the half progressed, leading to some sloppiness in possession. Just after the hour mark, Rangel collected a back pass from Érik Lira and took his time to find his next distribution target while being positioned far up the pitch. His undercooked pass to Diego Campillo instead found Sullivan, the leader of America’s makeshift press and as instinctive a player as anyone in the American pool.

Players with rare spatial awareness like Sullivan’s tend to manifest moments like these more often than most. Rather than looking to maintain possession, as his team so often did after turnovers, Sullivan caught the ball with his left foot, halting its progress close by, then returned to his favored left foot to chip Rangel and curl his effort under the crossbar. Sullivan was beyond jubilant, hitting the corner flag as his teammates converged before tapping the American crest over his heart.

Sullivan’s first international goal has always been a staple of his and the team’s highlights, an event years in the making as the country’s latest prodigy-in-waiting. The quality of his solo effort merits numerous replays alone, making his country’s great rival aware of his threat from his first appearance.

A sort of Mexican meltdown ensued as players struggled to return to their former state of control. The substitutes collided in the 67th minute, with Yunus Musah’s attempt to dribble upfield thwarted by Mateo Chavez’s leg kick. The foul brought the two teams together in a showdown as referee Selvin Brown showed the AZ Alkmaar defender a red card, much to the dismay of the fans.

For years, El Tri fans recorded their opponents’ goal kicks while chanting a homophobic slur. After considerable errors on both goals, fans instead let out a sectarian cry during Rangel’s restarts, with the stadium operators refusing to follow through on their pre-match threats to stop the game if the chant emerged. Fans also began booing Rangel’s every touch, taking an item off the usual list of responsibilities of a hosting fan base.

Perhaps inevitably, Rangel struggled to cope with this unusual mockery. Another poor back pass, this time from Álvaro Fidalgo, rolled straight into the box, with Rangel staying close to his goal line in the hope that a central defender would collect. Instead, Malik Tillman headed for the loose ball and placed it into the top corner, capping what once seemed a comfortable day for Mexico into a complete humiliation.

Before the match, Adams explained that the winner of this match tends to be considered the current power in the region. In this case, the United States took this power because it was granted to them and they took advantage of it.