United States 4-1 Peru: Pochettino's youngsters shine in friendly win

Mauricio Pochettino's new-look United States team rallied in the second half to secure a 4-1 friendly win over Peru at Inter.co Stadium.

Gianluca Lapadula cancelled out Justin Ellis' early opener in the first half, but Malik Tillman, Julian Hall and Sebastian Berhalter all scored after the break to secure the victory.

It took less than four minutes for debutant Ellis to score on his home ground in Orlando on his debut, as he met Giovanni Reyna's left-sided free-kick with a glancing header that went in off the far post.

But Peru responded well to the setback and equalised within 11 minutes. Yoshimar Yotun looped a lovely cross into the far post, and Lapadula sent his header back across goal to restore parity.

Tillman had the chance to restore the USA's lead in the 20th minute after meeting Peyton Miller's delivery first-time, but Pedro Gallese was well-placed to thwart him.

Mathis Albert's introduction added a spark, and he won a penalty after cutting inside from the left, getting a shove right on the edge of the box in the 64th minute, though Peru believed the contact happened outside.

Tillman stepped up to guide his spot-kick into the bottom-left corner, with Gallese unable to get a touch despite diving the right way.

And Hall then got a debut goal of his own, getting between two defenders at the far post to tap in Berhalter's brilliantly dangerous low cross from the right in the 72nd minute.

Berhalter then rounded off the goalscoring in the 90th minute with a stunning long-range finish that nestled into the top corner, giving Gallese no chance.

United States make strong post-World Cup start

The buzz of the World Cup was strong in the USA, leading to quite a bit of disappointment when they were knocked out of the tournament in the round of 16 by Belgium.

But having lost three of their last four friendlies before the tournament, Pochettino shook up his pack, bringing on a lot of debutants, and he has now been given a good headache by his young players.

Ellis, who had a joint-team-high three attempts, wasted little time making an impact on a pitch he knows well, and in the second half, Hall took less than 10 minutes to score his first international goal after coming off the bench.

Pochettino made 10 changes, making sure to see as many in his squad as possible, and they impressed, having 16 shots, worth 2.39 expected goals (xG), with six of those on target.

And while they impressed offensively, they also looked strong at the back, only facing two shots on target, though Lapadula's header was a well-taken goal.