New York Red Bulls head coach Michael Bradley instilled some early confidence in the youth of his squad in Saturday’s season-opener in Orlando, with 17-year-old Julian Hall taking advantage of his first opportunity of 2026.
Hall scored his first MLS brace on Saturday in the Red Bulls’ 2-1 road victory over Orlando City. The U.S. youth national team attacker logged an impactful 87 minutes at Inter&Co Stadium, becoming the fifth player in MLS history to score multiple goals in a single game at 17-years-old or younger.
After already matching his goal total from the entire 2025 campaign, Hall has the backing of Bradley to continue developing into a top talent for the club.
“It’s easy to forget how young [Hall] still is, because he’s been a professional for a few years, but he has really, really big qualities, and we’ve got to keep pushing him so that he can take the next step,” Bradley said postmatch in a press conference. “And tonight was a really good start for him. He had a really good preseason. So we were all really excited for him, that he could take the good preseason and turn it into really strong performance.”
Hall needed just eight minutes to break the deadlock, slotting home Emil Forsberg’s cross into the back of the net. Forsberg worked tirelessly to create space for a cross and Hall was in the right spot to slam home the pass.
32 minutes later, Hall doubled his tally and the Red Bulls advantage, roofing 16-year-old Adri Mehmeti’s pass into the top of the net. The Red Bulls kept the pressure on in the Orlando City box and Hall once again showed great composure in a tight space, adding to his busy night.
Hall credited Bradley’s belief in him to lead the Red Bulls line on Saturday, while also admitting there’s a long way to go in the new season.
“We work on those type of situations in training every day,” Hall said. “I think Michael did a great job setting me up in the system to be as much of a threat in the box as possible. The feeling is amazing right now, but we’re focused on the next game already.”
Hall’s continued growth will be one of the key stories to watch as the 2026 season pushes forward, while the Red Bulls hope he can become the next star that the league has to offer.
Up next for the Red Bulls is a home opening showdown against the New England Revolution on February 28.