USA vs Peru: USMNT Wins 4-1 in Pochettino's First Match Back
- 🔑 The USMNT beat Peru 4-1 in a September 26, 2026 exhibition at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida — the first match of Mauricio Pochettino’s new four-year cycle as head coach, and his first game in charge since leading the U.S. through the 2026 World Cup.
- Eleven players earned their first senior USMNT cap in the match, including eight teenagers, according to U.S. Soccer’s own recap of the game, with 16-year-old Philadelphia Union midfielder Cavan Sullivan becoming the youngest USMNT player to appear since Freddy Adu in 2006.
- Peru tied the match 1-1 at halftime after 19-year-old debutant Justin Ellis opened the scoring with a fourth-minute header, before Gianluca Lapadula equalized for Peru in the 15th minute; the U.S. then took control after the break.
- Malik Tillman converted a penalty in the 66th minute to restore the U.S. lead, and debutant Julian Hall added a fourth goal, assisted by Sebastian Berhalter, who also scored himself from long range to complete the scoring.
- The Peru game opened a four-match fall friendly window for the U.S. men’s team, which is also scheduled to host Chile, Mexico, and Canada over the following two weeks, based on U.S. Soccer’s own previously published schedule.
- No betting odds, point spreads, or win-probability models were used anywhere in this article — only the confirmed final score, goal scorers, and other publicly reported facts drawn from official team sources and sports-news reporting are included here.
The U.S. men’s national team beat Peru 4-1 in an exhibition match on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida — the first game in charge for head coach Mauricio Pochettino since he led the team through the 2026 World Cup. Eleven players made their senior national-team debuts, eight of them teenagers, as a young, rebuilt U.S. roster opened a four-match fall friendly window. Here’s what we found on how it played out, who scored, and what comes next.
What was the final score?
The United States beat Peru 4-1. Peru actually leveled the match 1-1 by halftime, but the U.S. answered with three unanswered second-half goals to pull away. The match was played at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida, and served as the opener to a new four-match fall friendly window for the U.S. men’s team.
Who scored the goals?
Five players were involved in the U.S.’s four goals, and three of them were making their senior debuts. Nineteen-year-old Orlando City forward Justin Ellis opened the scoring in the fourth minute, heading in a free-kick service from Gio Reyna for his first international goal. Peru’s Gianluca Lapadula equalized in the 15th minute, and the match stayed 1-1 through halftime. Malik Tillman then converted a penalty in the 66th minute to put the U.S. back in front. Eighteen-year-old New York Red Bulls forward Julian Hall added the third U.S. goal, his first for the senior team, assisted by Sebastian Berhalter — who capped the scoring himself with a long-range strike of his own.
How many players made their debut?
Eleven players earned their first senior USMNT cap in the match, including eight teenagers, according to U.S. Soccer’s own recap of the game. Pochettino used his first match in charge to hand out a wave of new caps as the program begins a new four-year cycle. Sixteen-year-old Philadelphia Union midfielder Cavan Sullivan started and became the youngest player to appear for the senior USMNT since Freddy Adu in 2006. The goals from Ellis and Hall also marked the first time two U.S. teenagers scored in the same international match since Josh Sargent and Timothy Weah both scored against Bolivia in May 2018.
Was this really Pochettino’s first match since the World Cup?
Yes — this was Mauricio Pochettino’s first match on the USMNT sideline since the 2026 World Cup ended. He used the Peru game as a chance to look at younger talent, and reports indicate he has signed on to lead the program through 2030, with a stated plan to give all 28 players on his current roster a chance to play across the fall window.
What’s next for the USMNT?
The Peru game was the first of four fall friendlies for the U.S. men’s team, which continues against Chile, Mexico, and Canada over the following two weeks. All four matches are being played on home soil in the U.S., according to U.S. Soccer’s published schedule.
| Date | Opponent | Site |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 26 | Peru | Orlando, FL |
| Sep 29 | Chile | St. Louis, MO |
| Oct 3 | Mexico | Glendale, AZ |
| Oct 6 | Canada | St. Paul, MN |
The bottom line
As of Sunday morning, 27 September 2026, the Peru game stands as a lopsided, debut-heavy win to open the Pochettino era, with eight teenagers among the newcomers and two of them finding the net. Three more fall friendlies remain before the picture of this rebuilt U.S. roster comes fully into focus, and we’ll be watching each one.