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ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 The United States Men’s National Team<\/a> returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 26 for the first time since its Round of 16 World Cup run. It’s set to take on Peru in Orlando, Fla., in an international friendly that could tell us a great deal about how the team plans to evolve during its next four-year World Cup cycle.<\/p>\n Coach Mauricio Pochettino\u00a0<\/a>has selected a young roster featuring 13 uncapped players (including eight teenagers<\/a>) alongside World Cup veterans like Matt Freese, Jedi Robinson and Tyler Adams. Several of those uncapped players, including 16-year-old phenom<\/a> Here’s what to watch for as the USMNT kicks off a brand-new competitive cycle:<\/p>\n This friendly is taking place at Inter.co Stadium, the home of Major League Soccer’s Orlando City SC, and that certainly feels like an intentional choice: Between the USMNT and Peru, there are five likely starters in this match who spent significant portions of their career right here with the Lions.<\/p>\n On the USMNT front, Villarreal defender Alex Freeman<\/a> came up through Orlando before moving to Spain in early 2026, while forward Justin Ellis is making a name for himself in Orlando right now. (His World Cup-winning Orlando teammate Antoine Griezmann thinks he’ll earn his own European move soon enough<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\nCavan Sullivan<\/a>, could play a major part in the USMNT’s World Cup future \u2014 and that story will begin right here against Peru.<\/p>\nA good old-fashioned Orlando reunion<\/h2>\n