As the Union resume their season, Cavan Sullivan knows the spotlight on him will only grow more

The anger over the U.S. men’s soccer team’s ugly exit from the World Cup is starting to turn to the next stage of grief: looking forward to a new era of players.

No one needs to tell Cavan Sullivan that he’s on many observers’ prospect lists. He already knows. And the 16-year-old got a taste of what could come for him in four years when he attended the U.S.-Belgium game with the big-time agency that represents him, The Team (formerly called Wasserman).

“It was my first USA game,” he said. “It was an amazing experience — Seattle’s a great soccer city. Just listening to the anthem and hearing 70,000 people singing, it was just truly sick to see, and I can’t wait to be there one day.”

Of course, the 2030 World Cup won’t have the same kind of home crowd. That tournament will be played in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco (with opening games in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay), so the reception might not be as friendly.

But the point stands: Sullivan will be 20 by then, starting to enter the prime of his career, and, the hope is, progressing at his future club home, the English Premier League’s Manchester City. If he plays well with the Union and U.S. national teams, the hype around him will continue to grow.

“I do feel supported by the U.S. fan base, and it is really cool to see,” he said. “I love this country. I love representing it. … But I’m not too focused on what critics or other people have to say, whether it’s good or bad. I’ve said that for a while now: I’m just focused on myself and getting better.”

There won’t lack of opportunities. Over the year and a half Sullivan has left in Chester, there will be an under-17 World Cup, an under-20 World Cup, and the start of the under-23 team’s preparations for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

» READ MORE: The hype train of a ‘golden generation’ of U.S. players and their $6 million coach crashes out of the World Cup

Perhaps there could even be an invitation to the senior team’s Concacaf Gold Cup squad next year if the manager in charge decides to take young prospects.

Right now, though, none of that is on his mind.

“I’m just focused on my stuff here with the club and any youth national team call-ups I get,” he said. “Everything’s an opportunity to show what I can do, and I’m looking to show the world what I can do this next part of the season and with whatever’s thrown my way.”

The Union’s season resumes July 22 with a home game against Red Bull New York, which has own much-touted young Americans in forward Julian Hall and midfielder Adri Mehmeti. (Sullivan is close friends with Hall, and said he sent a joking text message that “I’m going to kick him the first chance I get.”)

By then, it will have been 59 days since their last official contest on May 24. Players who weren’t going to the World Cup got around two weeks off, then returned to Chester on June 16 to resume training.

» READ MORE: Three things we learned from the Union’s exhibition against New England with MLS’s return drawing closer

Sullivan spent some of the time with his family at their Shore place in Sea Isle City and training with his father Brendan, a teacher at the Union’s high school and former pro player, up the road in Ocean City. He also spent plenty of time in Chester, including an appearance with the Union’s reserve squad in a friendly game against Ivory Coast when Les Éléphants were in town for the World Cup.

“I was just trying to stay fit because I know that this second half of the season will provide a lot of opportunity,” he told The Inquirer. “And possibly some great moments. Because I do feel confident we can turn this season around. … And it’s great to be back, with a new coach, and see the guys again.”

Indeed, three days after the World Cup break began, the Union fired manager Bradley Carnell and promoted reserve team coach Ryan Richter to the top spot as an interim. While it remains to be seen whether Richter can steer a team with the league’s worst record (1-10-4, 7 points) to this year’s playoffs, he assuredly has a close bond with Sullivan. That should translate into a robust amount of playing time.

“Obviously, I’m really familiar with Richter and [assistants] Henry [Apaloo] and Fred,” he said. “Not just from my work with the second team, but also Ryan since I was like 9 years old. We have a great relationship, so it’s exciting, man. New beginnings.”

» READ MORE: The USMNT-Belgium World Cup game was the most-watched non-NFL TV broadcast in a decade

While waiting for the season to resume, the Union have played closed-door scrimmages in Chester vs. Houston and New England and on the road at New York City FC. There will be one more closed scrimmage next week against D.C. United at the University of Maryland.

From all accounts, Sullivan has played well in all the contests.

“He’s been great in the three games: he’s affecting the games and being decisive in the games,” Richter said. “You saw flashes of it in the beginning of the season, and then the last couple games, he definitely came on really strong before the break. He needs to take that step now, where it’s not just things that look good, but it’s being decisive, and he’s done that in every game so far.”

Though it can be hard to draw too many judgments on the team, given all the substitutions, there does seem to be an uptick in players’ spirits.

“We’ve got a new energy to us and a new style, and we’re moving the ball a lot, and we’re keeping that same identity in terms of defensive press and the aggressiveness,” he said. “But we’re moving the ball a lot, and seems like we’re doing well and getting chances from it. So just looking to keep that up and be dangerous in the season.”

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As bad as the record is, MLS is eternally forgiving. Nine of each conference’s 15 teams make the playoffs, and the 11-point gap to ninth-place D.C. United can be closed in the 19 league games that remain. Sullivan was emphatic when asked if he believes this team can do so.

“Yeah,” he said. “I mean, we’re a playoff team, so we’ve got to act like it, and we’ve got to get there.”