Tres a Cero, Teen Edition: Sullivan and Hall Torch Mexico as Pochettino's Young USMNT Wins Third Straight

GLENDALE, Ariz. — There is a number in the United States–Mexico rivalry that carries its own mythology: dos a cero, the 2-0 scoreline by which the Americans have beaten El Tri eleven times over the decades. On Saturday night at State Farm Stadium, a team young enough to make the old heads look twice added one to grow on. Tres a cero. And the two players who did the growing are teenagers.

The final read USA 3, Mexico 0 — the 80th meeting of the fiercest rivalry in North American soccer. Julian Hall, 18 years old, opened the scoring in the 28th minute. Cavan Sullivan, all of 17 years and five days, doubled the lead in the 62nd with a chip so audacious it will live on highlight reels for years. Malik Tillman put the exclamation point on it in the 84th. It was the third straight victory for Mauricio Pochettino's United States, and the loudest statement of his young tenure.

Start with Sullivan, because Saturday belonged to him. With the Americans already ahead, Mexico goalkeeper Rangel — under little pressure — passed the ball straight to the Philadelphia Union teenager. Sullivan did not hesitate. He lofted it first-time from roughly 35 yards, over the stranded keeper and into the net, then sprinted to the corner flag and disappeared under a pile of teammates. Pochettino met him with a bear hug when he came off a few minutes later.

At 17 years and five days, Sullivan became the youngest goalscorer in the 116-year history of the U.S. men's national team. The cruelest part for the record books: the mark he broke had stood for four days. Mathis Albert, the Borussia Dortmund winger, had become the youngest scorer at 17 years and 131 days in Tuesday's 4-2 win over Chile. Sullivan needed less than a week to take it from him. "This is what you dream of," Sullivan said afterward. "I've manifested this not just these past couple days, but my whole life. The celebration — every bit of it. This is a special moment for me and my family. Most importantly, for the team, a great win and an awesome environment to do it in." Pochettino was just as taken: "He's a fighter, he's a warrior," the coach said. "It's difficult to find this type of player. Tremendous quality."

Then there is Hall, whose own night was historic in a quieter way. His opener came in the 28th minute, when Gio Reyna's cross deflected off Rangel and fell to the New York Red Bulls striker at close range. Hall blasted it home with his right foot. It was his third goal in three caps — the debut strike in last week's 4-1 rout of Peru, the equalizer in the 4-2 comeback over Chile, and now the opener against Mexico. Only two players in USMNT history had ever scored in each of their first three games: Eddie Johnson in 2004-05 and Alexander Rae in 1937. Hall, who made his MLS debut as a 15-year-old in 2023, is the third.

For long stretches this was not the comfortable scoreline it became. Mexico, under new head coach and national-team legend Rafa Márquez, started brightly — Santiago Giménez somehow steered wide with the goal gaping at the end of the first half. Twenty-year-old Diego Kochen, making his first career start in the American goal, was a standout, denying Roberto Alvarado with a reflex stop early in the second half. But Sullivan's goal broke El Tri's resistance, and the night unraveled from there: Mateo Chávez was sent off for striking Sebastian Berhalter during a late melee, and Tillman intercepted a pass and lashed home from the edge of the area in the 84th minute to complete the rout.

Step back and the picture is bigger than one rivalry win. Pochettino's message afterward was part pride, part warning: "It's amazing to have these talented players that appear now," he said. "We need to protect them. We need to support them. Our responsibility now is that this group of talented players grow in the right direction. Today they were so exciting to play." Three straight wins — Peru, Chile, Mexico — with the kids leading the line. For a program that spent the last cycle searching for an identity, the identity is suddenly obvious: it is young, it is fearless, and it is coming from Major League Soccer's academies. Both of Saturday's teenage scorers are MLS homegrowns, products of the same development pipeline now carrying the Philadelphia Union on an unbeaten tear.

For Mexico, it was a night to forget in a building that rarely forgets them. State Farm Stadium in Glendale is usually a home away from home for El Tri — more than 60,000 fans packed in Saturday, most of them in green — and they went home watching teenagers celebrate on their turf. Márquez suffered his first defeat in his rivalry debut as coach, without injured star Gilberto Mora, who was not eligible for selection.

The window is not over. The Americans close this international break on Tuesday against Canada in Minnesota, with a chance to make it four straight and keep the momentum rolling into the winter. But Saturday night will be the one people remember — the night the future of the U.S. men's national team stopped being a talking point and started scoring goals against Mexico. Dos a cero is history. The kids just wrote the next chapter.