The American soccer world is racing to embrace Cavan Sullivan, but potential USMNT star takes it all in stride — SkimNews
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- Cavan Sullivan has 5 goals and 7 assists across his last 10 games, tying Lionel Messi (12 goal contributions in 10 games with Inter Miami) for MLS's joint lead, despite being born after Messi won his second Champions League title with Barcelona.
- Sullivan is reportedly set for his first senior USMNT call-up this week (per ESPN), a week after head coach Mauricio Pochettino told reporters he and his staff are 'watching everything.'
- Two days before speaking to reporters, Sullivan scored off a backheel and nutmegged a goalkeeper at San Diego, part of a 10-game unbeaten run for a Union side that sat below the playoff line before the World Cup and now holds a three-point cushion above it.
- Under fired coach Bradley Carnell, Sullivan averaged 42.2 minutes per game across 13 appearances (1 goal, 2 assists); interim coach Ryan Richter has since handed him a bigger role, and Sullivan credits a 'belief thing' and a 'healthy competitiveness' in the locker room for the turnaround.
- Sullivan is the fourth of four soccer-playing brothers; two have appeared in Bangladesh's youth setup through their grandmother's roots, while older brother Quinn Sullivan has already represented the U.S., which Cavan called 'the biggest honor' to play for.
- The USMNT opens the road to the 2030 World Cup with fall friendlies against Peru, Chile, Mexico, and Canada in late September and early October, the first windows of a generational transition Sullivan appears positioned to anchor.
Why it matters: The USMNT's reported call-up of a 16-year-old who already matches Messi's MLS output anchors a generational transition that begins this fall with friendlies against Peru, Chile, Mexico, and Canada. Sullivan publicly framed representing the U.S. as 'the biggest honor,' a notable commitment given two of his four soccer-playing brothers have already surfaced in Bangladesh's youth pipeline through their grandmother's roots.
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