You’ve probably heard of the ‘Dos a Cero’ mythology within the US men’s national team’s fierce rivalry with Mexico, a nod to the 2-0 scoreline by which they’ve defeated El Tri 11 times over the decades.
On Saturday night, the young Yanks flooding new life into the program added one to grow on.
With MLS teenagers Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union) and Julian Hall (Red Bull New York) scoring clutch goals and 20-year-old Diego Kochen a standout in his first career start in goal, the USMNT met the moment memorably, delivering a 3-0 victory in Glendale, Arizona that will spike the excitement around this emergent generation that much further.
“It's amazing to have these talented players that appear now, and how important for us – is a big big moment,” said head coach Mauricio Pochettino postgame. “It's a big moment because we need to be right with them. We need to protect them. We need to 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.
“We need to continue with that idea, to keep that feeling – every time that they can be part of the this national team is the most important.”
One-sided rivalry
As young as the Stars and Stripes’ starting XI was, they were by far the more clever, resilient side.
The US soaked up heavy early pressure from El Tri, then drew first blood on their first real scoring opportunity, Hall firing home his third goal in three USMNT caps after Mexico goalkeeper Raúl Rangel – their starter at the 2026 FIFA World Cup – failed to deal with Gio Reyna’s low cross.
“It's important to score a goal first in that game, take control,” said Tyler Adams, named team captain by Pochettino in the lead-up to this occasion.
“But Mexico is a good team. They had control for large parts of the game. We had to stay patient, do a lot of dirty work, but we were willing to do it.”
Cavan's moment
After halftime, it was Sullivan’s turn to exploit a Rangel error, albeit in more spectacular fashion.
The Union’s homegrown phenom later admitted he might’ve been pressing too high on his own when he roamed forward to close down the ‘keeper. But it was more than worth it when he intercepted Rangel’s pass and instinctively lobbed a lovely left-footed finish over him from some 35 yards out, then raced to the corner for delirious celebrations with his teammates.
“These are moments you dream of since you're three, four, five, six years old. I manifested this moment,” Sullivan told TNT’s Melissa Ortiz afterwards. “I probably shouldn't have pressed the goalie; it felt like there was not really anybody pressing behind me. But that's why you go and that's why you put the work in, and I was rewarded for doing so.
“From there, it was sort of a blackout. I just remember chipping the ball, hoping it didn't hit the crossbar or go over. I kid you not, I was getting nervous when it was in the air,” he added. “But yeah, I'm really happy the guys ran down and celebrated with me. This team's really special."
It was a jaw-dropping moment to match, perhaps even eclipse, the massive hype that has accompanied Cavan’s rise: His historic first senior international goal, a marvel of both creativity and endeavor.
“He's a talented player with enormous quality, but with a very good balance, in possession and out of possession,” marveled Pochettino, praising the 17-year-old’s rare combination of “tremendous quality with the ball” and commitment “to chase people and recover the ball” in defense.
“He's a fighter. He's a warrior. It's difficult to find this type of player, no?”
Canada await
El Tri and their legions of fans inside State Farm Stadium were visibly shell-shocked by the Yanks’ cold-blooded opportunism. Then former Vancouver Whitecaps star Sebastian Berhalter applied the coup de grace to render Mexico shorthanded the rest of the way.
Second-half substitute Mateo Chávez had committed a basic foul against Yunus Musah in the 67th minute. Then Berhalter dialed up the temperature by racing over to get in his face, and the provocation worked, as Chávez reacted with a light slap to the face that drew a swift red card from referee Selvin Brown.
El Tri’s new head coach Rafa Márquez would later lament these “errors – really glaring errors – where we practically handed it to them,” and they still had one more left to commit, an errant back pass that sprang Malik Tillman to fire the night’s final goal into the top corner.
The Yanks’ youthful revolution now rolls on to Minnesota United’s Allianz Field, where on Tuesday they will face a Canada side who might just present an even tougher test than Mexico.
“When these kids play fearless like this, that's the most important thing,” said Adams.
“We want to come out there and allow them to show their quality, and they did that tonight.”
