The United States men’s national team had little trouble defeating El Salvador on Wednesday night in Florida, scoring five times in the first half on the way to a 6-0 win.

It was a squad comprised mainly of young players and those competing in Major League Soccer, with a single exception. Former Wisconsin standout Chris Mueller scored twice and added an assist on his full national team debut, as the young side blitzed El Salvador in impressive fashion.

Here’s a look at how players born in 1999 or later fared in the game, digging deep with stats provided by InStat.

Brenden Aaronson

Not long for these shores, Aaronson was one of five players in the starting lineup to go the full 90 minutes. Scoring a goal and adding an assist, the future Red Bull Salzburg midfielder was his usual active self, buzzing around the pitch and getting on the ball as much as possible. He completed 34 of 38 passes, seeing the ball a bit more than he typically did for the Union. Five of those pass attempts were deemed Key Passes as well. The standout number for Aaronson, and an area he can work on, is winning challenges. He won just 32% of 19 challenges during his time on the pitch, something that he’ll need to finetune order to take his game to a new level for club or country.

Ayo Akinola

Making his full team debut after climbing the ranks in the U.S. youth setup, Akinola was one of the five goal scorers and enjoyed a relatively solid outing. He did score on only one of three chances, as per the stats, and ended up actually underperforming his expected goals, as he produced an xG of 1.12 for his one goal. The more candidates that Gregg Berhalter has to start in the No. 9 spot the better, and Akinola didn’t do anything to dent his cause. It will be interesting to see if he earns a call-up to a January camp that’s expected to take place next month.

Mark McKenzie

If there’s a candidate from this group that could push his way into the conversation for be with the complete team, McKenzie might have emerged as the clearest candidate from among the younger players. The 21-year-old center back dominated the ball, attempting 99 passes, completing 94% of them. Obviously completing passes – many of which are between center backs – is just one part of what a CB is tasked to do. McKenzie won 92% of 13 challenges. Obviously, the caveat about how blunt the El Salvador attack was is worth raising when considering McKenzie for the next level. But between his performance for the Union in 2020, he appears to be playing his way into the conversation.

Sam Vines

Left back is always a position of need for the United States, so the more depth there, the better. Vines played 45 minutes, getting subbed out at the half for Marco Farfan. The Colorado Rapids defender looks like he’s on a solid trajectory to offer at least an option for Berhalter, as he was good enough defensively and showcased some decent passing chops. There was one moment where he dribbled the ball out of bounds under pressure, to nitpick over a player’s performance. The first goal came off the back of a nice Vines pass, as he played Mueller in behind the El Salvador back line who got the ball into the middle for Arriola. Vines finished with 90% of passes completed, and probably did enough to keep his stock in a good spot.

Julian Araujo

The youngest player on the pitch for the United States, Araujo had an uneven game in his debut for the first team. As a 2001, he’s much more likely to see minutes for the U.S. Under-20 team in 2021 rather than have a chance to establish himself as a regular for Berhalter. He flashed chance-creating abilities, setting up one of Chris Mueller’s goals and creating another opportunity. There were a couple of giveaways in dangerous spots that don’t show up in the stats aside from lost balls. But there were other positives in the numbers, whether it’s three Key Passes or a team-high nine interceptions.

Sebastian Soto

There’s little doubt that the game state didn’t favor a young, hungry striker like Soto to come on and make an impact. Entering in the 58th minute with the USMNT up 6-0, he saw very little of the ball. Attempting just three passes, Soto got himself into dangerous spots near the ball on a few occasions – he had a shot blocked and nearly pounced on a rebound. It’s hard to read too much into his performance considering where things stood in the game.

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