Fresh off USMNT call-up, Julian Hall plays Hudson River Derby hero
· Yahoo Sports
By Ben Steiner
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Julian Hall had quite the week, and he isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
On Thursday, the 18-year-old learned that he would represent the US men’s national team for the first time in the September/October four-match international window.
And on Friday, with USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino in the house at Yankee Stadium, Hall scored in a 1-0 Hudson River Derby win for Red Bull New York against New York City FC.
The Red Bull prodigy helped deliver his club’s first Hudson River Derby win since the 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs presented by Audi and pushed his side into eighth in the Eastern Conference, above the playoff line.
Beating soon-to-be USMNT teammate Matt Freese to an errant back pass, Hall calmly slotted home in the 57th minute for his 10th goal of the season, becoming the second-youngest player to score 10 goals in a single season.
“There was a lot of hustle there from him to get to that goal and also work around the goalkeeper,” head coach Michael Bradley said after the match. “It's a great play from him to go forward and force a mistake, and then he does really well to go around Freese and score the goal.”
No ordinary week
For Hall, scoring was long overdue. After becoming the league’s youngest player to score a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over the Columbus Crew in May, he had endured a 12-game goalless skid before ending it with his third goal in all competitions against NYCFC.
Hall grew up in the NYCFC academy before moving to the Red Bulls. Yet, he still lives with his family in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, embracing as many aspects of being a normal teenager as possible.
Finding form ahead of a first national team camp — and doing it in style — is a big step, though, and anything but normal for an 18-year-old MLS All-Star, now beaming with confidence alongside Adri Mehmeti as they prepare to take on Chile, Peru, Mexico and Canada in their first USMNT experiences.
“I've told them to go and be themselves and show their personality and enjoy every part of it... They've earned the opportunity to go and begin the process of earning respect and earning their place on that team,” Bradley said of the teenage duo.
“They’re two really talented young players. They both have really good mentalities, and again, they've earned their opportunity, and I'm really excited to, over the next few weeks, sit on the couch and watch the national team with Julian Hall and Adri Mehmeti.”
HIGHLIGHTS: New York City FC vs. Red Bull New York | September 18, 2026