Key events
KICKOFF
They’re off and trotting at Inter.co Stadium in Orlando, with the United States in their navy jerseys and Peru in their traditional red-sash-on-white shirts.
Reader Scott didn’t miss the very American custom of listed kickoff times going unhonored…
Ah, yes, well, of course, the bait and switch: “Kickoff” at 4:30, except it’s not. Is this allowed anywhere else in the world?
Can’t say for certain whether this is customary around the world, but I suppose they’re conflating “kickoff times” with “broadcast timeslots” to some extent of disingenuity.
…and now the Star Spangled Banner, with the in-stadium emcee introducing “viral sensation” Julie Falcon.
My algorithms didn’t do their part to make me among the viewers, but one past rendition of hers gained over a million views on TikTok.
They’re on the field now for the national anthems, with Peru’s being played first…
Pablo Iglesias Maurer
The stadium is only about half-full some 10 minutes before the opening whistle, with probably half of those fans belonging to Peru. Gotta say, the post-WC hangover is real.
What to make of Mauricio Pochettino’s roster selections?
Pablo Iglesias Maurer writes for the Guardian that it’s clear the manager’s long assessment of the country’s player pool isn’t quite done yet:
Pablo Iglesias Maurer
Tyler Adams dons the armband today, a familiar sight for US fans as the Bournemouth midfield captained the team through the 2022 World Cup. It’s a surprise, then, that this is the first time Adams has been named captain for a match under Mauricio Pochettino.
Tim Ream – 23
Christian Pulisic – 2
Chris Richards – 2
Tyler Adams and four others – 1
This week, US manager Mauricio Pochettino made his most substantive comments about the Folarin Balogun affair from the 2026 World Cup.
Read what he had to say:
Who are these kids?
You have probably heard of 16-year-old Philadelphia Union phenom Cavan Sullivan. But there are 12 other highly rated potential debutants on the roster for this international window.
Here’s a detailed cheat sheet on all of them: What they do well, where they can improve, and how they could fit in to the US national team this cycle:
How to watch USMNT v Peru
The game will be broadcast on TNT in the United States, with pregame coverage beforehand.
Graham Ruthven has a more detailed guide to that and other streaming options here:
Pablo Iglesias Maurer
A quick note on Cavan Sullivan’s debut; he becomes the fourth-youngest player to feature for the USMNT, behind Freddy Adu and a couple of unheralded teenagers, Mike Slivinski and Mark Jonas. The latter two were unknown high school players when they featured for the US in a 1991 friendly against Jamaica.
Sliviniski actually debuted in US head coach Bora Milutinovic’s XI in the US’ 1-0 victory that day and — despite Sullivan’s inclusion in today’s XI — remains the US’ youngest-ever starter.
“A buddy of mine sent me an article about [Cavan’s call-up], and it said he’d be the second-youngest player in US history,” says Slivinski, breaking into laughter. “What am I, a f*cking ghost? I don’t think it was a dream, I’m pretty sure I didn’t imagine the one game I played.”
Who is Cavan Sullivan?
The 16-year-old has become the headline attraction of these series of friendlies, with his recent surge in MLS leading to his first senior national team call-up.
What makes him special, though? John Muller writes that it’s all about chaos:
USA lineup: Cavan Sullivan debuts from the start
Why wait any longer? Cavan Sullivan will become the fourth-youngest player in USMNT history when the opening whistle blows, with Mauricio Pochettino involving an additional attacking-minded player in his lineup compared to his base shape at the World Cup. Sullivan is one of three players who will earn their senior international debuts from the start (indicated below with an asterisk).
Left to right (4-2-3-1)
Matt Freese
Peyton Miller* – Auston Trusty – George Campbell – Alex Freeman
Yunus Musah – Tyler Adams
Cavan Sullivan* – Malik Tillman – Gio Reyna
Justin Ellis*
This week, Mauricio Pochettino lamented not being “more involved” with the federation’s controversial and successful effort to suspend Folarin Balogun’s red card ban during the World Cup. Perhaps he’s also wishing he’d been more involved in recruiting dual-national Noahkai Banks, as the promising 20-year-old center back has officially made his one-time switch to represent Germany.
I’ll hardly be surprised if Banks follows the career path of a similar US-eligible snub of yester-generation, Neven Subotić, who ultimately became a mainstay for Borussia Dortmund and earned 36 caps for Serbia.
Pablo Iglesias Maurer
Mauricio Pochettino will field a squad involving 26 of his 28 available players today. Both sides agreed to 11 potential substitutions in this friendly (or “non-official match,” as Pochettino likes to say) and he is sure to use all of them.
One would assume that one of the missing 28 is a goalkeeper. The other may be Chris Richards, who was dealing with a lingering injury as of late last week.
Pablo Iglesias Maurer
Pablo is our man at the ground today, and it sounds like he and the rest of the attendees will be swimming through the Floridian humidty…
An absolutely soupy 82 degrees here in Orlando for today’s match, something US head coach Mauricio Pochettino probably isn’t thrilled by; at his press conference yesterday, Pochettino took a moment to bemoan US Soccer for scheduling four matches during this international window – he’d have preferred three.
It almost makes one wonder why the US boss didn’t call in more than the 28 players he did, as Germany boss Jurgen Klopp did, essentially creating a split squad. Either way, it ain’t comfortable here.
Preamble
This would be the part of a schlocky action-romance film where the characters look at each other, gasping for breath amidst tons of rubble strewn about in an absolute state, and optimistically ask “…so now what?”
The United States men are back in action after their once-dreamy World Cup run ended in an absolute nightmare. 82 days have passed since Mauricio Pochettino’s side were humbled in Seattle by a more experienced (and more focused) Belgium, crashing out in the last-16 for the fifth time in seven World Cups.
Perhaps surprisingly, Pochettino is back in his post along the touchline for (at least the start of) another cycle, as no clubs of his standard were still without a coach come tournament’s end. His squad for this four-match window blends youthful upstarts with holdovers from the World Cup squad, while a few players (like Yunus Musah) are back in the mix. Hope springs eternal, first with Peru paying a visit to the City Beautiful (the words of Orlando’s marketing folks, not mine).
Soon, we’ll learn how many of the 13 uncapped players in this camp will debut for the US from the opening whistle. Until then, finish off those Saturday chores and stick around for plenty of walk-up coverage before the MBM kicks off in earnest.
Hello, and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of USA v Peru from beautiful Orlando, Florida. Jeff will be along shortly to take you through the teams’ starting lineups as they’re released.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/sep/26/usmnt-peru-live-analysis-updates
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