For Cavan Sullivan, ‘the dream is reality’ in a successful USMNT debut

ORLANDO — There were hints in the last few days that Mauricio Pochettino might choose to make Cavan Sullivan’s national team debut be a start against Peru, and they proved correct.

When the word went out Saturday afternoon, there was plenty of excitement in the stadium and on social media. But when Sullivan was subbed out after just over an hour, he hadn’t made a highlight-reel play.

Instead, he gave a performance that, had it been done by a veteran, would have been called perfectly solid.

This should be seen as great news.

Sure, there weren’t any of the flashy moments that Sullivan has delivered for the Union in recent weeks. In fact, on a few occasions in the first half, he chose to make quieter plays when he could have gone big.

But for a 16-year-old to make those choices in his first senior national team game, with the nerves that surely were there on top of all the pressure he already faces?

» READ MORE: Cavan Sullivan makes USMNT debut in 4-1 win over Peru

That made Sullivan worthy of the praise Pochettino lavished on him afterward.

“I am so happy with his performance,” he said. “I feel really proud. Sixteen years old, and performing, and fighting, and playing with personality, with character.”

Leading up to the game, Pochettino seemed to intentionally not single out Sullivan or any of the other new young players on this U.S. roster until they played a game. Now they had, with 11 of the 12 newcomers getting on the field, so Pochettino could let it out.

“Of course, he’s a kid that absorbs a lot of pressure from the environment,” he said. “But I think now he’s with people, like he’s with people in his club, [so] that we are going to do everything to protect, and to help, and to support him to keep him evolving. And there’s no doubt that he’s very smart. He’s so great, and he only needs time — like Mathis Albert, like Zavier Gozo.”

» READ MORE: Mauricio Pochettino says Cavan Sullivan is ‘ready’ for his USMNT run alongside the team’s new generation

From there, Pochettino reeled off the names of almost every other newcomer on the squad, drawing laughter from the room. But he knows Sullivan is different because he’s younger than the rest, in fact now the second-youngest starter in team history.

That’s why the manager spoke of “feeling a sense of responsibility, trying to guide him with discipline and professionalism, showing him the way, because at 16 he’s still a kid who needs to mature. There are many things — just like us, too, with 50 years — to keep learning, because it’s a constant learning process.”

It’s 54 in Pochettino’s case, to be precise. But he could apply the night’s biggest point to players of every age, from his era to Sullivan’s now.

“The language of football is, good players connect quick,” he said. “They don’t need too much time together.”

» READ MORE: A Bridesburg basement and three older brothers helped Cavan Sullivan become the future of U.S. Soccer

Sullivan showed his fluency right out of the gate.

After the game, there were a few admissions that he is in fact new at this.

One was that he couldn’t figure out how to get his parents down the stands after the final whistle so he could greet them.

“I know now for next time that I can find a way to bring them down here,” Sullivan quipped.

» READ MORE: For all the hype, Cavan Sullivan has genuinely earned his moment on the USMNT’s biggest stage

Another was his admission that yes, he was as nervous before kickoff as anyone would expect.

“Of course there was nerves,” he said. “I was super-excited. A little bit of both. Pregame was definitely nerve-wracking.”

Beyond that, the national media got to see that Auston Trusty was right when he recently told The Inquirer about Sullivan’s humility. Spend time with Sullivan in person and you see the human beyond the Instagram highlights.

“It’s crazy that I represented my country at the highest level with the men’s national team,” he said. “I’m really happy just to have done this … The dream is a reality. It’s pretty surreal.”

» READ MORE: Union alum Auston Trusty embraces being a USMNT role model for Cavan Sullivan and Neil Pierre

He saw the chemistry, too.

“I just think, yeah, when you’re surrounded by players with such high quality, it makes it so much easier,” Sullivan said, “Like I said, I’m still learning. Chemistry’s a real thing, so, yeah, we’re taking it day-by-day, game-by-game.”

He kept his goals for the rest of this camp simple: “Learn more and more from the coaches, and from the other guys, and hopefully get my first goal.”

The games will get harder, especially facing regional rivals Mexico and Canada. But those goals seem achievable, perhaps even the last of them.

» READ MORE: Neil Pierre could be on the cusp of his next star turn as he heads to his first USMNT camp

Other players saw it too, starting with the one who lined up behind him on the right flank.

“Knowing that he’s only 16, it shows maturity,” said right back Alex Freeman, who this year vaulted from Orlando City to Spain’s Villarreal to World Cup stardom before turning 22 in August. “Showing that he knows when to choose his moments, when to be flashy, when to take his chances and when to keep the ball. … He picked his moments to go one-v-one, he also cut in [at] moments to be able to combine.”

He called Sullivan “a complete winger,” and said “as a first impression, it was amazing to see.”

Gio Reyna also now counts as a veteran at age 23, having been to two World Cups. He started in the central attacking spot, with Sullivan out wide.

» READ MORE: Before Auston Trusty scored a World Cup goal, he ‘put the work in’ at Penncrest High and Nether United

“My message to him today was pretty simple: just play, play with your instinct, be yourself, do what he’s been doing the last eight to 12 weeks in MLS that brought him here,” Reyna said. “Obviously, he’s got a load of talent. Looking forward to continuing to see him develop — he’s only 16, which is crazy. But yeah, he’s been great.”

Reyna admitted to being “surprised” to see in person that Sullivan is “a really, really hard worker … I didn’t think he was not going to work hard, but the work he’s shown has been great.”

It was not lost on anyone standing there that in normal-life terms, Reyna is still not far removed from the 2022 World Cup scandal that centered specifically on his work ethic. But maybe that made the words count a little more.

Not for nothing, Pochettino continued his praise of the veterans for how they’ve welcomed the newcomers into the program. He knew he’d get a lot of questions about players like Sullivan, goal-scorers Julian Hall and Justin Ellis, and others. But he insisted that the spotlight be shared.

» READ MORE: This summer created World Cup fans, but that's not the same as soccer fans. MLS must bridge the gap.

“The headline is, the senior players deserve massive credit in the way that they treat, in the way that they guide, in the way that they support, in the way that they welcome, in the way that they create an environment very comfortable for them to feel like home,” Pochettino said. “I think it’s a massive value for us to have the senior players helping in this way.”

This was just one night, and the 2030 World Cup is a long way away. For a first impression, though, this sure was a memorable one.

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