The fans who witnessed the United States’ 4-1 thrashing of Peru in Orlando on Saturday did not have to wait long to get their flashbulb moment.
asserted
who → witness → moment
It came just four minutes into the match, only moments after 19-year-old Orlando City attacker Justin Ellis headed home the US opener.
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Ellis → come → opener
Ellis, making his first appearance for the US, sprinted toward the near corner to celebrate, then turned and faced the US supporters in the north end of Inter.co Stadium – a supporters’ section nicknamed “the wall”.
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Ellis → make → Stadium
Quickly, he was joined by Villarreal defender Alex Freeman, himself an Orlando City product.
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he → join → Freeman
For a moment, the two former teammates posed arm in arm, gazing up at the home crowd.
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teammates → pose → crowd
Then they embraced, laughed, and attempted to run back to the center circle.
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they → embrace → circle
Gio Reyna, who’d assisted on the goal, shoved him back toward the fans.
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who → assist → fans
“Celebrating that goal with Alex – it was ridiculous,” Ellis told reporters after the match.
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Ellis → celebrate → match
“He’s like family to me.
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He → ’ → me
I think Gio also just understood the moment, being back home in front of the wall, it was just super special.”
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it → think → wall
Youthful, playful moments like this resonated on Saturday, not entirely unexpected given the fact that the US rolled out eleven newcomers, just one player shy of the program’s all-time record.
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US → resonate → record
The game pulsed with a carefree, free-spirited energy; an ideal palate-cleanser to US fans still reeling from the team’s stiff crashout against Belgium in the World Cup.
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game → pulse → Cup
That last-16 match was arguably the most important game the US has played in years.
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US → play → years
This one had zero stakes whatsoever, more a fact-finding mission than anything else.
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one → have → anything
Which is precisely what made it so lovely to watch.
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it → make → ?
On Saturday, the US kids played with an uncommon familiarity, particularly for their age.
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kids → play → age
Ellis and Reyna were far from the only two who connected.
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who → connect → two
Sixteen-year-old Cavan Sullivan – American soccer’s latest “next big thing” – threatened throughout the entirety of his 60-minute shift.
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Sullivan → threaten → shift
Julian Hall scored the United States’ third on his debut, crashing the back post on a Sebastian Berhalter cross as if they had been club teammates for years.
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they → score → years
“In the language of football, good players do not need much time together,” Pochettino said after the match.
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Pochettino → need → match
“They only need a few training sessions.
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They → need → sessions
It’s the same if they don’t have quality – you can train them for a year and that natural, organic connection never happens …
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connection → ’ → year
I feel really proud [for Cavan.
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I → feel → Cavan
There’s no doubt that he’s very smart, he’s so great, he just needs time.
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he → ’ → time
“It was a really special day,” Sullivan told reporters after the match.
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Sullivan → tell → match
“For me, my family, it’s crazy.
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it → ’ → me
It is crazy that I represent my country at the highest level, with the men’s national team.
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I → represent → team
I am just really happy to have done this – it was a really amazing night.”
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it → do → this
Pochettino spoke at length in the run-up to this match about the “contagious” nature of having so many young players in camp, and how it’s rubbed off on his entire staff.
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it → speak → staff
In the moments after Saturday’s dismantling of Peru, that much felt very apparent.
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much → feel → Peru
The Argentine said that the postgame sight of players embracing, wandering around to find family members and soaking in the moment gave him goosebumps.
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players → say → goosebumps
"It was amazing,” said Pochettino.
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Pochettino → say → ?
“We know what it means for these young players that they made their debut.
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they → know → debut
That means a lot for them, but it also means a lot for us …
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it → mean → us
We really are enjoying that fresh energy a lot – how they listen, how they want to improve, how they want to train, we were talking about energy, it’s very contagious.
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it → enjoy → energy
We can win or lose, we can perform OK or we can’t.
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we → win → ?
But we really enjoy the journey together.
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we → enjoy → journey
But while the US team’s last generational turnover took place without many established veterans sticking around, this time around those young players have latched on to those who came before – even if the “vets,” this this case, are sometimes still in their early 20s.
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vets → take → 20s
In his remarks to media pregame, Ellis praised his connection with Gio Reyna, and the rest of the US debutants have mentioned emulating other more senior players on the roster.
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rest → praise → roster
“Players like Tyler Adams,” said Pochettino, “and how he was out there on the field mixed with [Red Bull New York midfielder] Adri [Mehmeti], who is 17 …
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who → say → Mehmeti
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
