By OkayGoal
Cooper Sanchez received an early taste of MLS play in 2025 and has quickly used that to become one of the league’s thriving young talents.
Sanchez has shined during his breakout season with Atlanta United in 2026, playing a large role in Tata Martino’s return to the club. The Washington native has seen his production grow to 28 appearances, five assists and over 1,900 minutes to date this term as Atlanta United remains in the hunt for a playoff spot this fall.
Sanchez admitted that he wasn’t sure how large his role would be this season, but is enjoying every moment of it.
“I think the season’s been almost like a dream,” Sanchez told SBI in an interview. “To have that opportunity to establish myself within the team by playing a larger role has been a great step for me and my development. As a team things haven’t been going well, but I think what we’re looking at it now is that these games are must win, and that’s the only way we can look at it.
“Every game is an opportunity to show the fans that we are a winning club and we do want to win,” he added. “I may not seem like that from the outside, but yeah, that’s our goal right now. The group is still together, vibes are good and we can’t really dwell on the past results. We just have to move on and focus on one game at a time.”
The last 18 months have been a whirlwind for Sanchez, who has not only excelled for Atlanta United, but also on the international level. Sanchez was part of the U.S. Under-17 Men’s National Team World Cup roster last year, starting in three of the Americans’ four matches in the tournament before their Round of 32 elimination to Morocco.
Midway through the 2026 season, Sanchez was named to the USMNT U-20 roster for the CONCACAF U-20 Championship and later started the final four matches of their run to the tournament final. Sanchez has since used those international experiences as valuable lessons for the continuation of his club career, knowing how important they are.
“Going into the season this year, it was not a shock to me because I worked really hard,” Sanchez said. “I gained the trust of the coaching staff to even get this opportunity and in 2025 I got a sniff of first-team football and was able to play at the U-17 World Cup so it was a great year in itself. I asked myself, ‘how can I improve more?’. I wanted to show that I belong here, no matter that I am 17, 18-years-old.
“I was also able to play at the U-17 World Cup and things didn’t go our way, but the experience was amazing,” Sanchez added. “I got to play in U-20 World Cup Qualifiers which was another great experience, playing in big stadiums in Mexico and even playing in front of 50,000 fans at the Azteca was a different type of feeling. This year has been a stepping stone and I think it’s just the beginning because I want to keep improving.”
Coming into a first-team role as a teenager will always be an adjustment, but Sanchez has welcomed the challenge with open arms. Whether it’s tracking back to defend, setting up his teammates in the final third, or even trying to score himself, Sanchez has been ready to do it all for the good of the team.
While working with Martino has been great for Sanchez’s development, he credited his former second-team coach, Steve Cooke, for giving him the feedback that he said he needed most.
“I think as a professional when I stepped into the game with the second team, I didn’t really have the bite in challenges,” Sanchez said. “That was something that Steve Cooke actually brought up to me as a second team player saying ‘if you add this, you can go far’. I think adding the desire to want to defend and press and things like that has been a real improvement in my game, but there’s obviously still things that I can improve on.
“I think I can improve on the attacking side of the ball, being more calm in and around the box when I get chances,” he added. “I can improve on putting away my chances and creating chances too so I think that’s something that I can still add to my game.”
Sanchez’s first full season with the Atlanta United has not only allowed him to continue growing chemistry with fellow homegrowns but also learn from several veteran leaders in the squad. Miguel Almiron has past experiences playing in the English Premier League and FIFA World Cup, while Breel Embolo played in the German Bundesliga and French Ligue 1, and Aleksey Miranchuk logged several years of Italian Serie A minutes under his belt.
Sanchez has also used this season to learn from this trio of players, as well as his coaches, knowing that anything he can take with him could be important long-term.
“I think the confidence that the coaching staff and my teammates give me might be the most important thing,” Sanchez said. “I wouldn’t be the player that I am right now without them and I just trying to soak in as much information as I can. Everyone has their own experiences like Miggy and Breel playing in big leagues and the World Cup, and Aleksey playing in Serie A. Even too trying to learn from a guy like Jay [Ajani Fortune] who has been through the pathway and has played in the USL and MLS NEXT Pro.
“Him [Martino] and his coaches always give me confidence,” Sanchez added. “I think that’s the main thing I saw going into preseason, that they weren’t afraid to put me in difficult situations to see how I would react and see things. They don’t put a lot of pressure on me, they kind of say go out there and do what you do best and play your role.”
Growing into an important player for Atlanta United has been a main goal for Sanchez but he also has high aspirations to follow in the footsteps of his fellow USMNT U-17 teammates. Cavan Sullivan, Mathis Albert, and Julian Hall are three of Sanchez’s former U-17 teammates that recently made their senior debuts during the September-October window, with all three of them scoring their first goals.
USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino rewarded 13 debutants in the last camp as he prepares his squad for the November CONCACAF Nations League window, as well as future competitions such as 2030 World Cup Qualifying.
Sanchez is excited for the future of U.S. Soccer and hopes to be one of the next names on Pochettino’s team sheet in the windows to come.
“It’s very exciting to see guys that I played with at the U-17 level make their debuts and I can only speak positive things about all of them,” Sanchez said. “They’re great people first of all and great players as well. Every single one of them performs at a high level which is very good and exciting for U.S. Soccer as a whole going into the 2030 cycle.
“More and more young guys are playing in MLS and in Europe so I think that will only help the team as a whole to compete with some of the big countries,” Sanchez added. “I think about those goals when I go into every session and the goal of playing at a World Cup with the USMNT. It gives you confidence because you see your teammates get called up so you know that it’s possible for you too.”