Beyond Cavan Sullivan: Meet the rest of the USMNT's teenage talent pool

Adri Mehmeti, 17, Red Bull New York — midfielder

If Pierre is the American Van Dijk, then New York native Adri Mehmeti is the American Sergio Busquets: a mind-bogglingly intelligent midfielder who always knows where to place the next pass. It's been a long time since the USMNT has had a prospect quite like him. 

“You see the football. You see the intelligence,” said his Red Bull New York coach Michael Bradley. “But what you don't know when you're just watching on TV or watching from the outside is the personality, and the fearlessness and the love for the game. He has this infectious joy and love of training every day, of playing, of competing, and he doesn't get fazed by anything.”

Zavier Gozo, 19, Crystal Palace — wingback / winger

Utah-born Zavier Gozo lit up MLS in 2026 with his hometown club Real Salt Lake — so much so, in fact, that many advocated for his inclusion in the USMNT's World Cup roster. He didn't make the cut for the Cup, but he did earn himself a big-money transfer to the Premier League, and he's spent the rest of this year honing his craft with the best. 

Simply put, Gozo is a creator. Give him the ball and he'll make magic happen. He isn't the most disciplined or tactically astute player in this roster — that'll come with time and reps—but he has an innate, fluid inventiveness on the ball that makes him a captivating attacking prospect.

Mathis Albert, 17, Borussia Dortmund — winger

German club Borussia Dortmund has nurtured many of the USMNT's best recent attacking prospects, from Christian Pulisic to Gio Reyna—and it's nurturing another one in Mathis Albert. The South Carolina native broke through Dortmund's senior team this season and is already earning praise from coach Niko Kovac. "You can see what abilities he has," Kovac said. "He's fast, strong in the air, and I have to say he puts in a lot of effort."

Justin Ellis, 19, Orlando City — forward

If you want to know about Florida-born Justin Ellis's ceiling, just ask his World Cup-winning Orlando teammate Antoine Griezmann. "Justin has incredible talent," Griezmann said. "He will be a player of a very high level in Europe."

Ellis is a fearless forward and one with an inherent ability to collaborate. He's no lone wolf: He thrives off of attacking partnerships and creates opportunities for others just as frequently as he creates them for himself. He's a brand-new archetype for the USMNT's forward talent pool, and he's found himself an ideal development partner in Griezmann, a similarly teamwork-oriented attacker. The two are creating magic together in Orlando already.

Julian Hall, 18, Red Bull New York — forward

While Ellis is busy looking up to Griezmann, USA and Poland dual national Julian Hall is busy looking up to another world-class MLS player: Robert Lewandowski. Citing Lewandowski as a key influence should tell you everything you need to know about the kind of striker Hall hopes to be: well-rounded, efficient, cool under pressure and laser-focused on making his chances count. Hall's 10 goals and three assists make him Red Bull's top scorer this season by far...and the highest-scoring teenager in the league, too.