If you're good enough, you're old enough.
Stiven Jimenez, a second-half substitute in FC Cincinnati's 3-0 win over Toronto FC on Matchday 20, became the latest testament to that truism. The homegrown midfielder tied LAFC's Erik Dueñas as the fifth-youngest debutant in MLS history, marking inroads for the Orange & Blue's burgeoning academy.
Here are the 10 youngest debutants in league annals, a list that includes one-time wonderkid Freddy Adu and Bayern Munich/Canada star Alphonso Davies.
Player | Age | When | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
1. Freddy Adu | 14 years, 306 days | April 3, 2004 | D.C. United |
2. Alphonso Davies | 15 years, 257 days | July 16, 2016 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC |
3. Matai Akinmboni | 15 years, 328 days | Sept. 10, 2022 | D.C. United |
4. Obed Vargas | 15 years, 351 days | July 22, 2021 | Seattle Sounders FC |
T-5. Erik Dueñas | 15 years, 362 days | Oct. 14, 2020 | LAFC |
T-5. Stiven Jimenez | 15 years, 362 days | June 21, 2023 | FC Cincinnati |
7. Danny Leyva | 16 years, 31 days | June 5, 2019 | Seattle Sounders FC |
8. Reed Baker-Whiting | 16 years, 46 days | May 16, 2021 | Seattle Sounders FC |
9. Gianluca Busio | 16 years, 61 days | July 28, 2018 | Sporting Kansas City |
10. Caden Glover | 16 years, 66 days | May 13, 2023 | St. Louis CITY SC |
