Making your international debut is a huge and unforgettable moment for any player. Marking it with a goal turns it into history.
Take it from Juan Agudelo, one of the 57 players in USMNT history to score a goal while making their international debut.
“I’m speechless, I don’t know what to say,” Agudelo told ESPN after his winner against South Africa in 2010. “As soon as I saw the ball went in, I didn’t believe it. I thought it was going to get called back like an offside or something. I truly didn’t believe it. So many people here watching me and I scored the goal? It’s an amazing feeling.”
While 21-year-old Folarin Balogun was unable to find the back of the net on his U.S. international debut against Mexico in the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League semifinals, there are still plenty of recognizable names on this list of prestigious first-timers.
MORE: Where was Folarin Balogun born? U.S. international chose USMNT over England, Nigeria
Last player to score on USMNT debut
The last player to score on debut for the USMNT was Brandon Vazquez, who grabbed a goal in a 2-1 defeat to Serbia in January of 2023.
Prior to that, Cole Bassett entered the history books, providing the game’s only strike in a 1-0 victory over Bosnia & Herzegovina in December of 2021. The match was a friendly, with Bassett’s 89th minute strike giving the U.S. a dramatic victory.
Other players to score on their debut in the last three years include Ricardo Pepi and Gio Reyna, both of whom are considered key parts of the current U.S. squad.
List of players to score for USA on international debut
A total of 21 players since the year 2000 have scored on their debut for the United States, whereas 36 players had done it throughout U.S. international football history prior to then.
Interestingly, the only player since 2000 to score on his debut and not appear for the United States again was Eddie Robinson. The Houston Dynamo defender, making his debut at 29 years old, bagged a goal in his only international cap in a 2-0 win over Sweden back in 2008.
The youngest players since 2000 to score on their debut for the U.S. was Gio Reyna, who bagged a goal in a 6-2 win against Panama just three days after his 18th birthday.
Players to score on USMNT debut since 2000
| Player | Date | Age | Match | Min |
| Brandon Vazquez | Jan. 26, 2023 | 24 | USA 1-2 Serbia | 29′ |
| Cole Bassett | Dec. 18, 2021 | 20 | USA 1-0 Bosnia & Herzegovina | 89′ |
| Ricardo Pepi | Sep. 8, 2021 | 18 | USA 4-1 Honduras | 75′ |
| Ayo Akinola | Dec. 9, 2020 | 20 | USA 6-0 El Salvador | 27′ |
| Chris Mueller | Dec. 9, 2020 | 24 | USA 6-0 El Salvador | 20′, 25′ |
| Sebastian Soto | Nov. 16, 2020 | 20 | USA 6-2 Panama | 83′ |
| Gio Reyna | Nov. 16, 2020 | 18 | USA 6-2 Panama | 18′ |
| Christian Ramirez | Jan. 27, 2019 | 27 | USA 3-0 Panama | 89′ |
| Djordje Mihailovic | Jan. 27, 2019 | 20 | USA 3-0 Panama | 40′ |
| Josh Sargent | May 28, 2018 | 18 | USA 3-0 Bolivia | 52′ |
| Weston McKennie | Nov. 17, 2017 | 19 | Portugal 1-1 USA | 21′ |
| Dom Dwyer | Jul. 1, 2017 | 26 | USA 2-1 Ghana | 19′ |
| Paul Arriola | May 22, 2016 | 21 | Puerto Rico 1-3 USA | 56′ |
| Juan Agudelo | Nov. 17, 2010 | 18 | South Africa 0-1 USA | 84′ |
| Stuart Holden | Jul. 4, 2009 | 23 | USA 4-0 Grenada | 31′ |
| Eddie Robinson | Jan. 19, 2008 | 29 | USA 2-0 Sweden | 15′ |
| Kenny Cooper | Jan. 20, 2007 | 22 | USA 3-1 Denmark | 80′ |
| Jonathan Bornstein | Jan. 20, 2007 | 22 | USA 3-1 Denmark | 57′ |
| Chad Marshall | Mar. 9, 2005 | 20 | USA 3-0 Colombia | 33′ |
| Eddie Johnson | Oct. 9, 2004 | 20 | El Salvador 0-2 USA | 75′ |
| Landon Donovan | Oct. 25, 2000 | 18 | USA 2-0 Mexico | 49′ |
Notable USMNT debut goals prior to 2000
The very first player to score in his international debut for the United States, unsurprisingly, came in their first-ever match…because if the country had never played an international match before, neither had the players!
Harry Cooper scored the opening goal of a 3-2 friendly win over Sweden in 1916, the first-ever international match for the United States, making him the first player to ever score a goal for the United States. Charles Ellis and Charles Harry Spalding finished off the scoreline for the U.S. as they also obviously were on their debut.
There have been only two players to score a goal on their debut for the U.S. in a FIFA World Cup, and both came in the same match, all the way back in the first-ever World Cup in 1930.
Both Bert Patenaudle and Bart McGhee scored goals in a 3-0 victory over Belgium in the 1930 group stage, with the U.S. advancing to the knockout rounds.