Where's the national love for Cooper Sanchez?
Atlanta United's midfielder hasn't really gotten much love among U.S. prospect trackers despite featuring heavily for Tata Martino at just 18 years of age.
About the only thing Atlanta United fans can take solace in over the course of the 2026 season has been the blossoming of a top prospect in central midfielder, Cooper Sanchez.
It’s worth thinking to yourself how much you even knew about the player before the season started. Sanchez made his debut down the stretch of the 2025 season under Ronny Deila, but with the team already out of contention and playing on the road against Miami, you’d be forgiven for not even knowing that much.
Point is: 90% of Atlanta United fans didn’t know who Cooper Sanchez was 6 months ago, and now 90% of Atlanta United fans would label him the best of the few success stories for the team since.
And yet, now, in the wake of the 2026 World Cup, I’m seeing journalists, content creators, etc., all of whom I like and respect, compile their “X Top American Prospects” lists and neglect Atlanta’s 18-year-old… phenom? Try-hard? Something in between? What is Cooper Sanchez exactly, and why is he not garnering the same type of attention as some other MLS starlet midfielders?
The first reason is obvious: Atlanta United is at the bottom of the MLS standings. That’s always going to reflect poorly on its players for obvious reasons. And in Sanchez’s case, it’s taking the attention off the 18-year-old who’s been one of the first names on Tata Martino’s team sheet week in and week out.
Without doing a full analytical breakdown of Sanchez’s game, we can intuitively understand why he might not immediately jump off the Excel sheet when compared against other players. Despite the significant amount of minutes, as well as Sanchez’s all-action style of play as a box-to-box midfielder, he doesn’t have many counting stats and goal contributions that are easily noticeable. Just one assist and no goals this season. But even beyond that, Sanchez has only 10 shot attempts in over 1,200 minutes.
Okay, so he’s not proving himself to be a dynamic player in the attacking third (something I don’t think is factually true, but is evidently true based on his performances so far). But midfielders come in all shapes, sizes and roles. So if someone unfamiliar with his game recognizes he’s not contributing in the final third, they’re going to need to see some masterful string-pulling and passing range from deeper positions. And just based off the eye test, I’m not sure Sanchez is that guy either.
What Sanchez has proven to be, and why he’s so valuable to Tata Martino in the club’s current setup, is an ability to cover spaces intelligently. His out-of-possession work rate is needed in an aging team, and he does it at a high level physically and tactically. And he’s no slouch on the ball either. His confidence has increased over the course of the season and he’s shown nimble feet and an ability to play passes quickly with those around him, all valuable traits for someone in his role.
But what Sanchez isn’t is a player clearly in the mold of a traditional midfield “archetype.” He’s not a clear ball-winning midfielder, he’s not an attacking midfielder, he’s not a deep-lying playmaker, etc. My theory is when media and scouts are assessing young prospects like Sanchez, they don’t want to see an “all-arounder.” They’d rather see a midfielder with a very clear set of traits that fits one of these archetypal roles, because those players have a very clear tactical role and and media understand how they need to progress in their careers. Sanchez doesn’t fit any bucket cleanly, and for that reason his value may be harder to see. But, importantly, it doesn’t mean the value doesn’t exist.
Sanchez recently featured for the United States U-20 National Team at the Concacaf U-20 Championships and started the semifinal and final after a late arrival to camp, and he seems to have started turning some more heads.
Still, Sanchez will indeed need to improve his game. He’ll need to increase his passing range to be a better connector and transition the team from back to front in possession. And while he’s not going to be a primary creator in the attack, he will need to prove dangerous as a runner into the box and a goalscoring contributor. But still, as we’ve spoken on the podcast, Sanchez is very much a “modern” midfielder who can adapt to play in all different areas of the field. And if he had more functional pieces around him, he’d surely receive the plaudits he certainly deserves.
Been wondering the same thing.