After a crushing World Cup exit, 11 debutants and two teenage scorers are giving the program renewed verve

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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. It came just four minutes into the match, only moments after 19-year-old Orlando City attacker Justin Ellis headed home the US 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”. Quickly, he was joined by Villarreal defender Alex Freeman, himself an Orlando City product. For a moment, the two former teammates posed arm in arm, gazing up at the home crowd. Then they embraced, laughed, and attempted to run back to the center circle. Gio Reyna, who’d assisted on the goal, shoved him back toward the fans.

• Eleven players make US debuts in Orlando

• Sullivan, 16, starts in youngest US appearance in years

• Ellis and Hall score as Pochettino’s new faces impress

Playing in their first match of the 2030 World Cup cycle, the US men’s national team crushed Peru 4-1 in at Orlando’s Inter&Co Stadium on Saturday, riding goals from newcomers Justin Ellis, Zavier Gozo and Justin Hall to victory. The win marked the US debut of 16-year-old Philadelphia Union midfielder Cavan Sullivan, whose appearance in the US starting XI makes him the youngest player to feature for the national team in over two decades.

Sullivan received the lion’s share of the attention in the lead-up to Saturday’s match but it was Orlando City’s Ellis who stole the show early, nodding home a Gio Reyna free kick in the fourth minute to give the US an early lead. Playing in his home stadium, Ellis himself was involved in the build-up that led to the free kick, part of a nifty interchange with midfielder Malik Tillman that ended with Ellis drawing a foul at the near side of the pitch some 25 yards from goal. Reyna’s service was excellent; Ellis’ headed finish was awkward but perfectly-placed at the far post.