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USMNT beats Peru 4-1 as 11 players make senior debuts

sportsSep 26, 202627469

The United States beat Peru 4-1 in Orlando as Mauricio Pochettino handed 11 players senior USMNT debuts. Justin Ellis opened the scoring four minutes into his debut with a header off a Gio Reyna free kick, Gianluca Lapadula equalized in the 15th minute, and the U.S. pulled ahead in the second half as Malik Tillman converted a penalty and Julian Hall scored after coming on. Sixteen-year-old Cavan Sullivan started two days before his 17th birthday, became the fourth-youngest player in USMNT history and played 61 minutes (35 touches, 25 of 28 passes completed, one shot, one defensive recovery) but received a yellow card after a collision with Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. Pochettino was allowed 11 substitutions and used all of them; early changes included Matt Freese replaced at halftime by Diego Kochen and a group of five changes just past the hour that brought on Hall, Mathis Albert, Zavier Gozo, Sebastian Berhalter and Antonee Robinson. The match served as the opening of a new cycle for the team, with Pochettino debuting a large cohort of young players including multiple Philadelphia Union ties in the starting lineup.

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