A historic day for MLS teenagers with the U.S. Men's National Team, Nashville SC's pursuit of the league's single-season records, and standout performances during the September international window.
MLS Teenagers Shine on U.S. Men’s National Team Debuts
It was a historic Saturday afternoon in Orlando, as MLS teenagers lit up the pitch in the United States’ 4-1 win over Peru, highlighting a new generation of domestic stars in the red, white, and blue.
19-year-old Orlando City SC forward Justin Ellis opened the scoring in his home stadium with a tremendous looping header in what he called “almost perfection.” After a goal by Malik Tillman, 18-year-old 2026 MLS All-Star Julian Hall scored the third goal of the match with a lunging finish from close range, meaning he and Ellis became the third pair of USMNT teenagers to score in the same game in the modern era.
Overall, eight different MLS players made their U.S. Men’s National Team debuts against Peru, all aged 21 or younger, including six teenagers. The group was highlighted by Philadelphia Union midfielder Cavan Sullivan (16 years, 363 days old), who became the second-youngest player to start a match in U.S. Men’s National Team history.
The next generation of American talent will be on display tonight when the U.S. hosts Chile at Energizer Park in St. Louis (8 p.m. ET).
Nashville Chasing MLS Single-Season Royalty Under B.J. Callaghan
Just seven regular-season games separate Nashville SC from what could be the most dominant regular season in MLS history.
After a convincing 2-0 win over Toronto FC, Nashville sits on 60 points (18-3-6 record) and only 15 shy of eclipsing the single-season points record set by Inter Miami CF in 2024 (74). Five victories would get the job done, and given that four of their games will be at GEODIS Park, where they have not lost in the regular season in 2026, it looks very possible the record could soon reside in the Music City. When looking at the post-shootout era, the club also has a real opportunity to produce the most wins, home points, best goal differential, and fewest goals allowed per game.
Nashville’s lineup is loaded with MLS legends like Hany Mukhtar and Cristian Espinoza, a relentless no. 9 (Sam Surridge), Best XI-caliber defenders (Andy Najar and Maxwell Woledzi), along with arguably the Goalkeeper of the Year frontrunner (Brian Schwake). If Nashville sets multiple records, it’s quite possible the league is looking at the best regular-season team in its 31-season history.
Early MLS Standouts During International Window
From heroic goalkeeper performances to multi-goal games, MLS players on international duty have already made an impact for their national teams during the window.
In North America, the story of CONCACAF Nations League so far has been the Dominican Republic, who have won both games in Group A, thanks to the strong play of Nashville SC goalkeeper Xavier Valdez. Valdez has six saves in the wins for a Dominican team that has never made it out of Nations League group play and has only qualified for Gold Cup once (2025).
Across the pond in European Nations League action, it was Orlando City SC forward Marco Pašalić who came off the bench and scored the game-winning goal for Croatia against Czechia. Pašalić became the second Orlando City player to score during this international window, joining Justin Ellis. The 2026 FIFA World Cup participant will look to make another impact against reigning champions Spain later this afternoon.
Other standouts so far include Son Heung-Min, who scored a terrific free kick for South Korea (Watch Here), as well as several MLS players for Canada that helped earn a feisty 1-0 win over Chile. With plenty of international action this week, more than 100 MLS talents will be in action for their national teams and looking to provide further standout moments.
