Breakout Youth Player in MLS / USL 2026

Also notice whose 3rd on the same chart

Adri Mehmeti (‘09) is an incredible talent as we all know, but notice who’s in 3rd? Taha Habroune (‘06) has had a very strong start to the season with Columbus Crew and should be called up to the USMNT after the World Cup. https://t.co/nEv8h42u3h

— American Ultras Talk (@usmntaut) May 12, 2026

And his dual citizenship is with a country who is extremely aggressive with dual nationals.

 

I don't know most of those players. MLS really turns over the talent nowadays.

 

it’s a fine line. Keep the players as long as possible without being seen as holding them back (financially or professionally). Part of the problem is that perception doesn’t necessarily keep up with reality…and perception is what decisions are made on

 

I think it will work itself out. After McKennie and Richards many teams around the world way over bid for other FCD academy kids. That has stopped and I'm not seeing it replicated on scale in MLS anymore. Like I said earlier Brazil and Argentina don't send kids over at 14-18 they usually are around 20 or even older. They get established as starters on their teams and they have a track record of being good players. When they go teams are counting on them as starters or key reserves. I predict that will become pretty much how MLS operates. get several years key use out of players who move on to bigger leagues / teams while few players will be in a rush to go leagues no better than MLS just to be in Europe. As MLS keeps improving there will be fewer and fewer leagues and teams that are better than MLS. Brazil made some internal improvements a few years ago and their league improved and players are staying more than they used to. I see MLS having that effect in increasing amounts as the years go by.

 

Ellis with another great game tonight. In my opinion, he was the best player on the field tonight against Philly. It’s criminal that he wasn’t on the score sheet as Ojeda didn’t t score on the three 1v1 w/ the keeper nor the open volley from 8yrds out that Ellis put on his foot. Tiago also flubbed a first touch that would have put him in on goal from Ellis also. All this just off the top of my head.

 

I just saw the recap, not the whole match, but I was extremely impressed by Mehmeti.

I think if you laid Hall’s 3 goals end to end up they wouldn’t reach the PK spot. I’m positive they wouldn’t reach the 18. IMO his move to Europe needs a more intelligent choice of clubs than any player we’ve had in a long time. He needs service. If he gets it he will score.

If he goes to a top league, he will be on a weak team that doesn’t give him that service. If he goes to a top dog in Portugal or Belgium, etc., I think he’ll light up the scoresheet. And if a truly elite club likes what they see there, then he should move to a big 5 league.

Let’s hope he makes the right choice, or that my assessment is wrong.

 

PSV as Pepi’s replacement seems like it’d be a good fit. But he may also end up at Red Bull Salzburg I’m guessing.

 

Another dual national also as he also has citizenship from Uruguay.

 

A fairly remarkable night for the boards. Maybe the best ever?

Hall with a hat trick.
Gozo with 2 goals.
Cavan with his first goal, and a hockey assist.
David Vazquez with 2 goals, and Pedro Soma with another.

And that’s not to mention all the other thread eligibles starting and playing well.

Arguably the top ‘07, ‘08, and ‘09 are all breaking out at the same time. Going to be really hard for another season to have more impactful players breakout at once.

We’ve gone multiple seasons before without 1 breakout as exciting as these 3.

 

Definitely feels like the next wave of guys is here even if it’s too soon for this World Cup for pretty much all of them.

 

Sure but I think there’s actually a number of guys who are good enough to push some of the regulars.

It’s also the case where 2030 will be the first where there will no longer be the missing generation and you’ll have a balanced complement of players from each age range.

 

That’s exactly the kind of club I was thinking of. However, as Clint Eastwood notes, the economics of that don’t add up. My fear is that Hall (and NYRB) will go for the best short term deal, rather than the best long term deal for his development.

I’ve quoted it a bunch of times, but Arsene Wenger once said the most important thing for a player’s career is his ability to pick the right clubs.

 

I think there’s a good chance they keep him in their own system and he goes to Salzburg and then Red Bull Leipzig which seems like a fan transition. He could also go over now (which he may be better off waiting) where’s Mehmeti has to wait till he’s 18.

 

Soma’s injury hurt San Diego more than people have noted — he’s been extremely good at creating danger via ball progression. I think he’s better at this point than people give him credit for.

I’m going to pat myself on the back for Vazquez. Not a lot of people liked him because his athletic profile isn’t otherworldly, but the dude always made plays. He’s going to be a very good pro and frankly should be consistently starting for SDFC.

 

Welcome to real depth and competition. There’s a very real chance Gozo goes right past both (and a very real chance he doesn’t). His combo of size, speed and finishing ability means he’s going to be a real goal scoring threat even for a team that doesn’t generate chances.

That has a ton of value.

 

Yeah. 2030 is gonna be interesting. We'll have a tremendous amount of competition for every spot.

 

I'd say his more near competition is Weah. I don't think a guy who can take people on the dribble is a right back and both Dest and Freeman are primarily right backs with one also a sort of CB hybrid and the other a wingback at times. The next cycle will need new blood as it can't be good for a team to stay almost exactly the same for three cycles.

 

I really like dominant clubs in 2nd tier Euro leagues for young attacking players. PSV, Benfica, etc. Get to build your confidence by regularly feasting on the (often sub MLS level) opposition in your domestic league, while still getting regular opportunities to test yourself against tougher competition in the form of the other 2-3 dominant domestic clubs and in Europe.

I'm not a fan of those type of clubs for young defensive players, for most of the same reasons.

 

Personally, I think Gozo and Freeman aren’t in direct competition. It’s more Gozo vs Weah/Dest.

I do find the difference between Gozo and Weah is very small. They have a lot of similar traits.

Dest, on the other hand, is much better in tight spaces than Gozo.

 

Very true. Pulisic/McKennie generation will be getting older but still young enough to compete at the highest level; the kids will have to force their way in and earn their spots, which those 2 and the other guys born around ~2000 didn't really, through no fault of their own.

 

Agree. I think that part of the problem we have seen with players plateauing is due to scouting difficulties:
1) to the fact that so many players went young...either in absolute terms (U18 etc) or in professional terms (young for a professional player and hasn't yet proven himself in a professional league. The younger a player is, and especially if they have little professional experience, the more difficult it is to accurately predict the ceiling.
2) I believe that European teams didn't really have a great feel for the quality of MLS (I don't mean that in a positive or negative way). Without a real understanding of how good a league is, projecting how good a player will be...especially a young player becomes more and more of a roll of the dice. I believe that European teams now have a greater understanding of the range in talent due to increased numbers of Americans in leagues across the continent and also, the successes and failures of European players that have travelled to USA.

We have an evolving league that has been improving relative to other worldwide leagues in quality since it's inception, but it is also separated geographically and competitively from most of those leagues. The only real direct connection we have is those players we share that have played in European leagues and MLS (not just the academies). The numbers of quality (younger) players from Europe (and South America) as well as the increased numbers of MLS players that are transferring to European teams AFTER a few seasons in MLS helps to increase the accuracy of perception vs reality to the point where it isn't as much of a SWAG.