USMNT v Canada live – updates, analysis and more from international friendly

Ah, the friendly. It’s a can’t-lose game. Win, and it’s proof that the team is on the upswing. Lose, and it was all just an experiment.

That said, when a bunch of youngsters are romping over Mexico, it’s hard to suppress the optimism entirely.

And this one has all the added subplots of two countries sharing the world’s longest border – 5,525 miles or 8,891 kilometers – who aren’t really on speaking terms right now.

Did we mention that the Canadian coach, Jesse Marsch, is from the USA and has a tendency to take a few jabs at his native land?

So this one might be worth more popcorn than the typical friendly. Enjoy.

Jeff Rueter on the kids, after Cavan Sullivan’s long-range chip helped the US to a 3-0 win over Mexico:

The more incredible thing about Sullivan’s moment, aside from its historic nature and its semi-dreamy origins, is how normal it is for this window for the US. All but one of the 13 potential debutants called in by Mauricio Pochettino have seen time on the field, most of them impressing. Julian Hall, 18, has scored in all three of his appearances. Mathis Albert broke Christian Pulisic’s decade-old benchmark to become the program’s youngest goal scorer and held the record for a whole four days before Sullivan’s chip.

Given the opponents so far, it’s fair to say these players aren’t inching into the shallow end of the pool. They’ve been thrown in at the deep end, and they are swimming.

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of USA v Canada. Beau will be along shortly.