USMNT prospects Gozo, Hall "dreamed of moments" like MLS All-Star | OneFootball

By Charles Boehm

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The MLS All-Star Game presented by Chime tends to be all about the now: recognition of outstanding performances in a given season, as well as a healthy dash of respect for star names who have been at an elite level for years.

Sometimes, though, it also captures what’s next. Like the brace of teenage phenoms, Zavier Gozo and Julian Hall, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Son Heung-Min and Thomas Müller in the Queen City this week ahead of Wednesday night’s faceoff with the LIGA MX All-Stars at Bank of America Stadium (8 pm ET | Apple TV).

“Dreams are becoming a reality,” Hall told MLSsoccer.com after the All-Stars’ light training session at Charlotte FC’s Atrium Health Performance Park on Monday morning.

“I've dreamed of moments like this since I was a kid, and sharing the field and the environment with players of this status is just amazing. It's a great feeling to be here.”

Whirlwind rise

Standouts for Real Salt Lake and Red Bull New York, respectively, over the season’s first half, Gozo and Hall earned their spots by flashing potential and productivity alike. Both lead their teams in goal contributions (9g/4a in 17 games for Hall, 6g/5a in 16 games for Gozo), showcasing tantalizing skill sets and substantial upside.

“Yeah, it's been crazy. I feel like it's been a little bit of a whirlwind,” said Gozo. “Having a bigger role to play this season, I think it's been an amazing season for me, and just having the confidence of my teammates and my coaches around me.”

Gozo got his feet wet with RSL in 2025, notching 4g/3a in 25 MLS appearances (1,815 minutes), then exploded into far greater prominence this year – even as he came to grips with a new assignment as a wingback. He was tasked with the new position not long before Salt Lake’s season opener at Vancouver Whitecaps FC yet proved a natural, exploiting his top-tier athleticism to skin defenders and disorganize opposing back lines.

“It was a shock for me at first,” Gozo noted, “but yeah, I’ve definitely grown into the role and learned it.

“The 2025 season, it was kind of an adjustment year for me,” he said when asked how the pieces fell into place for him this year. “I had just started playing. I learned what I can do, what I can't do, and how to take advantage of my opponent. So I think just learning the game a little bit more, natural progression, and also just the confidence piece.”

USMNT aspirations

Gozo's leap forward was so dramatic that he drew substantial hype as a possible late-breaking addition to Mauricio Pochettino’s US men’s national team squad at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with The Athletic’s Paul Tenorio and other prominent voices advocating for his selection despite zero senior international experience.

“How close I got, I feel like even surprised me,” revealed Gozo. “At the start when they're first talking, it's like, ‘people are talking, whatever.’ But then as it got closer, I was like, 'OK, maybe this could actually happen.' So I think I was more disappointed when I didn't make it than I thought I would be.

“It just gave me more motivation for the next four years and the Olympics and all these things, and made me realize how much I really want to play for the national team.”

Born goal-scorer

Hall, meanwhile, carries all the hallmarks of a natural striker, with clever movement in the penalty box and an instinctive nose for goal. He’s been scoring regularly against professionals for years, having signed an MLS homegrown contract with RBNY at age 15 back in 2023 after holding his own in MLS NEXT Pro action, setting club records for youngest goalscorer and assist-getter.

All of which is a reminder that while Hall is a fresh new face to most of the soccer mainstream, he had to grind in obscurity and bide his time for years before breaking out.

“I always believed in myself,” he said on Monday, “and I trusted the coaches and the Red Bulls with how they developed me to get to this point. And it's definitely worked out so far, but there's still a long way to go for me.”

Donovan endorsed

Now these two have drawn the attention of big European clubs, and rocketed their names into the conversation about the next phase for the USMNT following the Yanks’ inspiring but ultimately unfulfilling Round-of-16 run on home soil this summer.

The duo recently earned the endorsement of States legend Landon Donovan, who plugged Gozo and Hall as top prospects for fast-tracking into the senior squad on ‘Unfiltered Soccer,’ the podcast he co-hosts with his fellow USMNT and MLS alum Tim Howard.

“I've always dreamed of playing in a World Cup, and I think sometimes that attention is good,” said Hall. “But I always have tunnel vision, and I'm always ready for the next challenge.”

Long-range objectives are rapidly becoming short-term goals. Beyond the aforementioned 2028 Olympic mission, Gozo readily expresses his desire to be called into the next US camp in late September, along with his ambition to help push RSL to the top of the MLS Western Conference standings and on a deep run in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs come autumn.

Hall, too, prioritizes postseason qualification with the Red Bulls, whose performances under first-year head coach Michael Bradley have swung wildly between thrilling and sobering thus far – like many young sides.

“Every team goes into playoffs wanting to win a trophy, and that's going to be my goal until the season's over,” Hall said. “We have to find ways of being more consistent. The table kind of shows that: We're right smack in the middle there, and that's what we've been talking about, is how can we get that extra edge and find ways to win games."

World Cup dreams

Notably, Hall’s international future is not yet settled. His mother Agnes was born in Poland and emigrated to New Jersey in her teens; he honors her and their heritage by wearing her family name, Zakrzewski, on his RBNY jersey. Polish federation president Cezary Kulesza took the unusual step of visiting Agnes in person earlier this year, gifting a national-team jersey with that same name on the back as part of a recruiting push.

Though he’s already logged substantial time with US youth national teams, Hall is most definitely keeping his options open. Those World Cup dreams he spoke about? If he’s wearing any particular kit in them, he’s not letting on.

“I'm on the field. I'll say I'm on the field,” he said with a shy smile. “That's what I dream of, is being on the field. … Time will tell. And I appreciate both of my nationalities, but World Cup, period, is my dream.

“My heart is really with both of them, and I appreciate both of my parents as well.”