Philadelphia Union homegrown Quinn Sullivan generates USMNT buzz | OneFootball

By Charles Boehm

It was one pressing moment among hundreds executed by the Philadelphia Union in every match – a fleeting instant, nothing for the scoresheet, a seemingly forgettable footnote to a dominant 4-1 win over their frenemies FC Cincinnati last month.

It sure did catch head coach Bradley Carnell’s attention, though.

“Quinn Sullivan, in the game against Cincy, we’re pressing down the right side, and Frankie [Westfield] closes, and we're closing from the weak side with Tai Baribo, and we're closing from the [No.] 6s, and we deflect [a pass and] the ball goes for a throw-in,” Carnell later narrated to MLSsoccer.com.

“But Quinny celebrates – he's got this celebration, of like, ‘boom,’ you know? And this was amazing, because they've embraced now the challenge of working against the ball, because they've seen what it does for them to score goals and create goal-scoring opportunities.”

The relish with which Sullivan exulted in the so-called dirty work was telling: an embrace of his team’s game model, a vindication of the ways in which Carnell has goosed the throttle on the Philly press since his arrival over the winter.

It reflected how much the 21-year-old homegrown has come to epitomize his club’s ethos, and by extension, his hometown’s pugnacious spirit, which the Union will flash when big-money Atlanta United visit the unfriendly confines of Subaru Park on Saturday (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass).

Sullivan remembers that play, too.

“Truly heat of the moment; the ball had pretty much gone from right side to left side, and it was a long pressing moment, and we eventually ended up in a throw-in, but I think that was more like, we were on top of them the whole time and it was just like, ‘let's go, this is working,’” he told MLSsoccer.com this week.

“What we had worked so hard on in preseason, you felt the effects of it. And that was kind of a full-circle moment of like, this work we put in is going to be worth it. Yeah, that was a good one – I think the celebration was a little bit too much. But it was definitely exciting.”

Do-it-all midfielder

There’s been plenty of end product for the elder of Philly’s talented homegrown siblings, too. He's tied for third in MLS with four assists in his first eight games, ranks fourth in the league in key passes and his underlying metrics are downright dazzling: ranking in the 92nd percentile in non-penalty expected goals and the 99th percentile for shots, progressive carries, expected assisted goals, progressive passes received and touches in the attacking penalty area, among other striking data points.

It suggests steady growth from 2024, where Sullivan stacked up 5g/8a in 2,402 league minutes, and he’s offering all this in multiple positions on the field beyond his preferred attacking midfield spot.

“I think I just need to play center back and goalkeeper to check off the list!” Sullivan deadpanned. “But I definitely take pride in my versatility. It helps you get on the field, especially when I was younger and trying to break in, it was great that I could play striker and midfield and 10 and always do a job, whichever my best position was.

“That growth and that experience in my younger ages of my career help me now kind of have an understanding of where to play.”

USMNT prospect

Accompanied by that relentless running, defensive commitment and deeply Philly-esque combative edge, it’s a complete package that’s drawing buzz for a US men’s national team call, particularly given the USMNT’s alarmingly limp performances under Mauricio Pochettino in last month’s Concacaf Nations League finals weekend.

“The last games weren't great at all. It just wasn't good. I think even your most staunch US men's national team supporter would say that it wasn't good,” said Danny Higginbotham, an MLS Season Pass analyst who worked on the Union’s local broadcasts in previous seasons.

“With Quinn's flexibility, his ability to play in multiple positions, the energy that he brings, I think sooner or later, I'm sure he's going to be given the opportunity. Because I think one of the things that we've seen is Pochettino, he's gone to a lot of MLS games, so I don't see a reason why he potentially can't be given an opportunity."

Philly through and through

Beyond his creativity and directness, there’s a tenacity to the attacker, a throwback quality that reminds some of past generations of USMNT standouts.

“It's what you call blue collar over here, but we call working class in England,” said Higginbotham. “People will accept you having a bad game – no matter what sport it is in Philly, they’ll accept you having a bad game, but if you have a bad game because you’ve not tried hard enough, people will let you know.

“So when you've got someone like Quinn, who understands the Philadelphia mentality, understands what the city stands for, then he very much shows what the city is all about on the pitch. Yes, he's a talented player, but his work ethic is phenomenal.”

All this makes Sullivan one of the Union’s key figures in multiple contexts, a walking manifestation of the long-term vision to rely on local prospects to build a competitive squad in a proudly gritty city’s image.

“I'm glad people see that. I hope a lot of people see that, especially our fans. I definitely take pride in growing up in the city itself,” said Sullivan. “When me and [former Union center back] Brandan Craig were on the team, we always used to say, like, we're the only two true homegrowns, right? From Philly through and through, grew up in the city.

“Look, we love all the homegrowns, but we take a little extra pride in that. That obviously was instilled in me just through growing up. But also, Philadelphia is the Sullivans' home, and we all stay pretty close to home, and think the family as a whole has that mentality. That's where I think it's rooted from.”

Sibling rivalry?

That ‘Sullivans’ plural part is also noteworthy, because Quinn all too often gets overlooked amid the rising tide of hype about his younger brother Cavan, the 15-year-old prodigy who’s arguably the Union’s best-known personality despite him having logged a modest 27 career minutes in MLS play thus far.

There’s some banter between the siblings on this – as with almost everything in their joyously competitive household – but little in the way of tension, it seems. Quinn is a vital part of Cavan’s story, and says he doesn’t mind the spotlight so often being pointed slightly to his left despite contributing a great deal more at first-team level.

“I'm always happy for Cavan, and the attention he gets is well deserved. But no, that's not like fuel for me or anything like that,” Quinn said. “Seeing him do well is good fuel, and being on the same field as him and watching him have success, actually that's better for me than whatever it is, the jealous side, or anything like that. Watching him make appearances and make a difference in the game, that's more inspiring than all that.”

Their teammates, though, can tell who’s actually watching the games.

“Let me ask you this. You're in the media space,” contended Philly veteran Alejandro Bedoya to MLSsoccer.com. “Whose fault is that, that one guy is not getting more shine than the other? To me, that's all just the way the media plays it all out, right?

“It's an age thing, [Cavan’s] a young player, most talented – when you got quotes out there saying Man City sees him as the most talented 14-year-old they've ever seen and things like that, yeah, could that be blown out of proportion? I don't know. 14 years old, 15, it’s still too young. You have so much left to go to actually make a great career. But that's not Cavan’s fault, that's not Quinn's fault. It is what it is. They have a great support system. But Quinn's the one that's been playing consistently on a week-in, week-out basis, and he's already kind of proven himself, that he belongs.”

National team dreams

This week Quinn sounded more concerned about arresting his club’s recent dip in form, a three-game winless skid after their strong 4W-1L-0D start to the season, than a national team opportunity. He says he’s had no direct contact from Pochettino’s staff, but it’s on his to-do list, with perhaps an extra layer of urgency given he missed out on last summer’s US Olympic squad after taking part in the 2023 U-20 World Cup.

“I was a part of that World Cup team, would have loved to be a part of the Olympic team, and at least in a camp or two. But yeah, my goal is to definitely get called into a first-team camp,” said Sullivan. “I know the World Cup is coming up, and it's definitely, I don't want to say, farfetched, but it's a long shot that I could even make that team, but I'd love to be seen before it just to know, so the coaching staff can see me play, see me in with the group.

“Obviously a huge goal of mine. It would be a dream come true to represent them at any level, but especially at a home World Cup, would be pretty insane.”

He’ll take his next step in that direction on Saturday night.

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