Julian Hall simply cannot stop scoring, and his meteoric rise on the American soccer scene somehow continues to gain speed.
At 18 years and 50 days old, the center-forward became the youngest player in Major League Soccer history to record a hat trick, doing so in Red Bull New York’s 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew Wednesday night at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
“I’m not gonna lie, I got kind of emotional,” Hall said. “It kind of makes me think of all the times I was working so hard to make memories like this. I’m just really grateful and thankful for the guys who set me up and put me in great positions.”
He has 12 goals in 15 matches across all competitions this season, scoring at a pace unseen by a player this young in the United States. For comparison’s sake, American forward Ricardo Pepi — who put together one of the finest age-18 seasons in league history back in 2021 and is now starring for Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven — scored 13 MLS goals in 31 matches that season.
“Jules is a great kid. Nothing is going to his head,” head coach Michael Bradley said. “He comes in every day ready to work, ready to train, ready to listen. He has a great personality, he has really good starting points as a player, and I’ve enjoyed every second of working with him. We’re going to continue to challenge him, continue to push him, continue to find the right ways to help him improve, but we’re really excited for him.”
It is not only the age that suggests that this blistering production is ahead of schedule. Hall has never exclusively been a central striker until this season, and his level of play has been so good that it has forced former Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain man Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to a reserve role.
Yet here he is practically carrying Red Bull’s goal-scoring duties single-handedly. He has accounted for roughly 41% of his team’s goals in MLS play. His game is rooted in instinct — a high soccer IQ more often than not has him at the right place at the right time. It’s not just poaching, it’s predatory, and right now, it’s unstoppable.
He needed just four touches to score his three goals. His first goal on Wednesday night came in the seventh minute off a low cross from Cade Cowell, in which one touch was needed to tap the ball into a wide-open net. Cowell played helper again in the 40th minute when another low cross from the right found Hall at the edge of the six-yard box. The youngster opened up his left foot and guided the pass between the legs of Columbus keeper Patrick Schulte.
The winner came off a corner kick in the 78th minute, when Gustav Berggren’s header was cleared off the line right to Hall. He settled it with his first touch, then fired it home with his second.
“Even when I first came through the second team, [former Red Bull striker] Bradley Wright-Phillips was a big guy who helped me find the right places at the right time,” Hall said. “Especially this season, Michael has helped me in improving my game. Every game, I’m trying to be in the best positions for my teammates. I’m here watching the [UEFA] Champions League, everything, trying to be like those guys.”
It’s probably smart that Hall is doing his homework on the Champions League and European soccer, because at this rate, it’s only a matter of time before he makes the jump across the Atlantic.
Sources tell amNewYork that there has been “a ton of interest” from top clubs overseas for some time.
“Any big European club knows of Julian Hall,” that source added, though Red Bull has not received any sort of offer yet for the 18-year-old.
There is also this notion beginning to percolate that Hall should be getting a look from Mauricio Pochettino and the US men’s national team ahead of the 2026 World Cup this summer, and that might not be such a far-fetched concept. The Americans do not have a bona fide No. 9, though Monaco’s Folarin Balogun is the top choice. But a call from the national team, even just for a pre-tournament camp, could tip the scales for the Stars and Stripes’ future regarding Hall. He is a dual national who could also potentially represent Poland, and the European nation has been proactive in its recruiting efforts of late by visiting Hall’s mother.
“I feel like whatever happens happens,” Hall said. “My focus is with the club, but obviously, it’s a dream of anyone who plays to play in the World Cup. I hope someday that happens. If it’s not this year, I’m going to keep working hard and striving toward that goal.”
For more on Julian Hall, visit AMNY.com
