I definitely agree with this. With a 26 man roster you should have one or two of the spots for your best U20 guys who haven't broken into the full team yet but whom you predict will be a solid part of the next cycle just to give them exposure and experience in the world cup even if they never get off the bench.
Almost certain that Cavan will not get any playing time today. Of course, the same applies to the rest of the roster. Weather always be ruining things!
Ronaldo didn't play but he definitely was good enough. Maradona at 17, was good enough to be apart of the Argentina team that won the World Cup but his coach thought that he was too young.
He'll have to show he's on that trajectory. I mean, in 93/94 Ronaldo scored 44 goals in 47 games for Cruzeiro. He still holds all of these records down in South America. Youngest player to do this, that, and the other thing. Ronaldo wasn't on the 94 World Cup squad just for the experience. He was, as a 17 year, one of the best players in South America at the time. He had earned that spot on the roster. Then right after the 94 World Cup he moved to PSV (where he was an immediate sensation). If Cavan earns the spot, nobody will have an issue. I put the percent chance he's on this roster much lower than you guys are even talking about above. I'm thinking like 5% chance at best. That's because in order to make it he's going to have to rock the 2025 MLS season as a 15 year old. And with the slow and steady progression Philly is taking with him (rightfully so), I don't think he'll be enough of a regular to do that. Then he'll likely move to Europe in that January window after his 16th birthday, and probably won't play a lot right away. There are young guys like Paredes, Paxten Aaronson, Booth and company that we're all hoping have great 2024-2025 European seasons. All of those guys would be higher up on the list to "break out" and nab one of those remaining roster spots. Just my opinion. My point isn't to denigrate Cavan's talent level or damper enthusiasm. I just think the timeline is too aggressive for him or any player of this age to make it. I'd be more inclined to believe an older teenager like Cole Campbell can break out in time to compete for a roster spot. Cavan isn't our only prospect.
Sure but the standard for making a 26 man roster for the US team is just not as high as the standard for making a 23 man roster for a Brazil team that won the World Cup. He’s definitely not our only prospect and maybe it’s someone like Berchimas who makes the leap. I don’t think he needs to kill it as a 15 year old. He just needs to do well enough in the back half of next season (during which he will turn 16) to earn an invite to January camp 2026. And then it’s the first half of that season where he’s really go demonstrate he deserves a shot. As I think it’s more likely he moves to Europe summer 2026 to coincide with the start of a new European season. The chances aren’t high, but they aren’t zero. But also independent on some of the other guys you mentioned since they play different position. It’s going to be much more a question how how someone like Cremaschi continues to develop.
I'll elaborate on what I think is a plausible path. 1) Play a handful of games in the second half of this season with the first team. 2) First half of 2025 bounce back and forth between Union II and first team. With the proportion of games gradually shifting in the direction of the first team. 3) Second half of 2025 establish himself as a first team regular. Late 2025 establish himself as a dangerous influential player. 4) Get called up by senior team in late 2025 and early 2026. 5) Be one of the Union's best players in the first half of 2026.
I think his chances of making the 2026 team are also pretty good. Ditto Noahkai Banks. Talent is talent.
Centerback is a spot where if someone breaks through they are most likely to find their way into the team. But the thing about all three prospects is I think it’s likely one of them emerges and makes the team but probably not all three.
This is plausible, but still very unlikely imo. 14, 15, 16 years old is incredibly young for senior level soccer. He hasn’t played that much for Union 2 yet. And having watched a few of his games, he’s been good but not above that level of play by any stretch. I’m not convinced that he plays today, and the only reason he’s in the squad is that senior players aren’t available. Ronaldo tore up the Brazilian league, but he was more than 16.5 years when he debuted at that level. And he was a few months shy of 18 at the 1994 World Cup. Cavan won’t be 16.5 until the spring of 2026. And he won’t be the age Ronaldo was at the 1994 World Cup until the summer of 2027. and although mls isn’t a top league, it’s still full of grown men. Cavan is adjusting to the physicality of mlsnp, and is starting to show signs of physical development, but that’s still a weak spot for him. he could end up being a ballon d’or contender but still not be ready to contribute at mls level consistently until the end of best season, or even the 2026 season. And he might not really take off in mls until 2027, when he will still just be 17-18.
Kendry Paez (born May 2007) had the following trajectory: 1) Promoted to Independiente's first team for 2023 pre-season at age 15. Made his first-team debut in February. 2) Was called up to the senior national team in June 2023 shortly after his 16th birthday. For Cavan the equivalent would be a national team callup in October 2025. 3) Played his first senior team match in September 2023 in qualifier against Uruguay. For Cavan the equivalent would be his first match in January 2026.
That’s impressive, but Ecuador doesn’t have the depth that we do. Cavan will be competing for playing time against guys like Reyna, Tillman, Mckennie, and whoever pops up in the age group between 2002 and 2009. We aren’t on a level that allows us to look down on Ecuador, but we do have more competition for minutes at most positions.
I think Ronaldo is the most underated player of all time. Had he stayed healthy he would be the best player of all time. He had a 5+ year stretch of being unable to be defended and players would just lunge at him and make horror tackles on him from behind. He was the reason for changing the red card rules for tackles from behind. Was as fast (faster?) than Christiano Ronaldo and could dribble as well as Messi. Could score from either foot even at distance and was a menace with his head. Go watch some highlight videos and read his wiki if you haven't . Absolutely dominated until the injuries piled up.
I agree. Cavan will have to be better than Paez to achieve the same trajectory. It should be noted if he debuts this season he will be AHEAD of Paez' club trajectory.
This is what I think too. I think folks are going off the deep end a little bit. Which is fine. We're fans. We're allowed to be a little delusional at times. I mean, you can't compare this to 17 year old Ronaldo in Brazil. That's like a totally different animal. He's called Fenomeno for a reason. Comparing anyone to him isn't fair. Just a freak of nature to be that dominant at such a young age. Maybe Sameul Eto'o for Cameroon in 1998 is a better example. He really had done very little in pro soccer when he was named to that roster. In 97-98 he was on loan in the Spanish 2nd division, and only scored 4 goals. He had only recently turned 17 when he made their WC roster. Let's be clear. Sullivan would be the youngest player to ever be named to a WC roster for any nation. No 16 year old has ever been on a roster. This is a real long shot. Our pool is getting deeper and deeper and deeper. We have older prospects more likely to have broken thru.
Yeah. In my opinion, physical development in the later teenage years is what allows guys to rapidly develop from academy stars to full pros. Yamal is so unique in that he was physically ready for senior level soccer when he turned 16. Most guys make that leap in physical development at 16-19, not 14-16 like he did. To put it another way, I don’t think that because Messi was able to handle La Liga when he was 17, that he would’ve been ready to play well in a league like mls at 14-15. The same things that prevented him from being ready to play for Barcelona earlier would’ve applied to any decent senior professional league.
...................and Sullivan at the 26WC will be YOUNGER than Yamal at this Euros. It's like you compare Sullivan to the rare exceptions, and realize he'd even be younger than that.
This is why the whole- Cavan should play in WC26 bothers me so much. His skill and IQ have been higher than avg MLS level for the past 2 years- but physically he's still not there yet. There's no need to rush it, he will grow and get stronger. There are no points for being the youngest. If any of you have actually been watching him play MLSNP, he loses the ball a ton, gets pushed off the ball a ton. But then there are 4 or 5 moments a game where he does something no one else on the field can do. He does not deserve to be on the first team yet, I'm a bit surprised at Curtin- there are more deserving players on that team right now. In order for him to compete against men physically, he needs to exert so much more energy, and put enormous amounts of stress on the body. It's going to lead to injuries (he's already had 2 since Jan when he started training with the first team, and I don't remember him being injured in the previous 4 years). Also, mentally, when people reach the top they lose a bit of hunger. Complacency is a killer. I'd rather he prove to be the best player on Union II before he get's called up. He's not even close right now.
The idea itself requires so many variables to go right. I’m personally of the mind that if he does a near MLS average performance in the second half of the season before the World Cup, I could see a coach taking him to the World Cup. I think if we get a coach with little or no MLS experience as the next guy the chances go down. They may just say “he’s 16 with half an average season in the domestic league I’ll use the spot on someone with experience”. Which would be totally valid in my opinion. I’m not sure that I think it means he should go to the World Cup even. I’m not sure I’d say I expect him to be able to do that. I just am interested in the discussion really. I would say even if he made the World Cup I would be astounded if he was a difference maker on that squad like Yamal just was. If he was I’d be the happiest person to be wrong. But because of that I’m not sure it really matters if he makes it. If it comes down to whether a coach has the perspective that the experience would be good or bad for him, whether he’s on the roster or not doesn’t matter much. This also all hinges on the idea that the Union will give major playing time to a player they no longer actually own if he’s performing below average to average.
Yeah. If they are putting him on the bench as a small reward for signing the contract and playing pretty well, that’s fine, but I agree that he’s not ready to contribute at this level yet. And there’s obviously no shame in that. At his age, he shouldn’t be playing for the Union until he puts in 8/10 performances for 8-10 straight games, and I don’t think his performance this year or the amount of time left in the season will allow for that. I’m hopeful that he’s able to rack up 150-200 minutes at the end of next season, but even that could be a stretch.
Anyone know how much Cavan weighs? I've seen a listed weight of 150. Which surprises me a little. But he is pretty powerfully build. Big butt. Gonna end up with a barrel chest by the time he is in his mid 20s.
A lot of young homegrown players that are getting a lot of playing time this season, were not getting 8/10 ratings in 8 or 10 straight games, when they played in MLS pro.
There is a recognition that right now due to international callups and injuries (which will continue with the U20 callup), there just happen to be spots on the bench available. Cavan is under contract. He's a guy it makes sense to be on the bench. Now he has to work hard to earn minutes. I don't think anything is really just being given to Cavan. He has to earn it. Curtin implies in his comments that Cavan has earned this spot on the bench with his play for Philly II, but will have to earn first team minutes. Maybe tonight will be a one-minute cameo. We'll see. Philadelphia Union call up Cavan Sullivan, 14, for first time - ESPN