'I'm obviously not just tall' - Meet Neil Pierre, the Philadelphia Union rising star scoring goals, mixing tracks as a DJ and catching USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino's attention

Pierre remembers when this soccer thing started to feel real. A strong camp in Europe with the U.S. U-15s made him realize the sport could be more than just fun. It could be a career. From there, he began climbing the academy ranks with his hometown club, the Union.

In 2025, Pierre was MLS Next Pro Defender of the Year, offering a real glimpse into his potential. However, there was no obvious pathway to playing for the Union to start the 2026 MLS season. To get what he needed, Pierre headed to join Lyngby in Denmark's second division on a six-month loan.

His professional career meant that Pierre wouldn't get the college experience, but he would get something resembling a study abroad. If you know anyone who has studied abroad, they often come back with stories. Pierre is no different. There are stories about food, culture, and soccer. There are also stories about growing up.

"I had that decision to go overseas because I needed to play, and it didn't really look like I was going to play the next season," he says. "So that came about, and it was a great decision. The beginning was really tough, but as soon as things came along and I started playing more, I got very comfortable with the group, and then also the country.

"I feel like I grew a lot personally, and then also as a footballer. I think that then got me back here to the Union, and then everything from there has been smooth rolling."

Lyngby is the same club that now features USMNT standout Diego Kochen, who recently raved to GOALabout the pastries in Copenhagen. Pierre agrees.

"The candy is really good," Pierre says. "Especially if you go to Sweden, they've got the sweetest candies."

One of the hardest lessons Pierre experienced was what happened when he couldn't have candy. At some point, especially as a professional athlete, you need real food. One of the hardest things Pierre experienced in Denmark was learning how to prepare that.

"My mom gave me good instructions, but the cooking was tough," he says. "My mom cooked so often, so cooking was a struggle. I was just FaceTiming her for like hours, trying to figure it out."

In the end, his time with Lyngby was transformative. He played 10 games and scored four goals for the club. He then returned to the Union this summer and instantly claimed a starting spot, positioning himself as one of the top young players in MLS. And, ultimately, he earned his USMNT spot and those first three caps.

During his time in Denmark, though, Pierre learned about parts of himself that aren't connected to soccer. The big one is music, he says, and that connection with music has ultimately helped him on the soccer field, too.

Pierre started DJing towards the end of his time in Denmark. It was a big thing in that part of the world and Pierre found it fun. So he started messing around, and he hasn't stopped.

"It just cools me down, hypes me up, whatever it is," he says. "I just started playing with that, mixing and matching. It's literally everything: house, Afrobeats, neo soul, R&B. I prefer R&B and neo soul."

The creative process, he says, is soothing, and it takes him in different directions.

"I sit down and I just think," he says. "I'm really thinking of songs I was playing earlier and new songs, and I try to mash it together so both songs are playing in different parts. Maybe it's a different beat from this song, a different beat from that song, and then obviously the transition into the next song I would want it to be.

"I like doing beats and melody or just melody into that next song, then repeating that and adding some extra beats. If I want to listen to house music, I want to add something different to it. It's kind of neat. You can just sit there and you're mixing and matching anything you want."

His new hobby has also expanded his Pierre's pregame playlist. He's discovered that he prefers something chill. He rattles off names: Lauren Hill, Erykah Badu, Frank Ocean, Drake. The goal is to calm the mind and prepare it for the task at hand.

However, for a variety of reasons, Pierre has not yet been entrusted with the aux for club or country. After just a few weeks with the USMNT, he's learned it'll be hard to wrestle it away from the established group.

"The people on the playlist here, I can't even lie, they've got that," he says. "Chris Richards on the playlist is top. Frankie [Westfield] and Mark [McKenzie] will have to figure it out in Philly. I'll just play my own music."

Whatever Pierre has been doing recently has worked, though, particularly in Philadelphia, where his ability to mix and match has also made him one of MLS' most dangerous weapons.

Richards had heard stories of Pierre for months. His younger brother is in the Union academy, so, despite being in London, the Crystal Palace defender was very familiar. For those who weren't, they saw on social media very quickly.

Shortly after he returned to the Union, Pierre began to go viral. He scored two goals in his first three games and four in his first seven. As it turns out, having a defender as tall as Pierre is useful on set pieces. The Union found that out quickly.

"When I got my chance, I capitalized on it," he says, "and then I've stuck with it so far."

Pierre's ability to score on set pieces isn't just about his height, though. It takes a skill that many don't realize: belief. Pierre doesn't let the ball come to him. Instead, he goes and gets it. That's why he's so dangerous.

"Every time there's a set piece, I'm like, 'I can score, I'm going to score, and I want to celebrate'. I want to do celebrations that I've been practicing, and I want to score. That's what goes through my head. There is a determination to try and score. I practice celebrations because I know I'm going to score. I have it planned out, so when I score, it's like I manifested it."

Set pieces are easy, in that sense. Proving that he can do everything else is the more difficult part. It's easy to put a label on Pierre's game but, to make it at the highest level, he'll have to shed that label. There's a reason that top teams don't just stick tall guys on the field. To make it at a certain level, you have to play soccer, too, and Pierre is desperate to show he can do just that.

"I'm obviously not just tall, and I don't only score," he says. "I'm a defender, and I can be very good at defending."

To further improve that facet of his game, Pierre leaned on some of the veteran defenders in camp. When he's made a mistake, they've been there to critique him. When he's done well, they've been there to build his confidence, too.

"Neil was really impressive out there," Richards said, "and it wasn't perfect, but I don't play a perfect game either. I'm really, really happy for him. I think he did really well in his first start, and, hopefully, he has a lot more. He went out there with confidence against a really professional team."

When people learn Pierre is a soccer player, there is usually a follow-up question: why aren't you playing basketball? The answer is simple: his family.

Pierre's passion for soccer started at home. In fact, his passion for everything did. His immediate family played a part. So, too, did the community around him. The soccer part of it came from his father and brother. The work ethic part came from his Haitian-American roots.

"Who I am as a player and person comes from my parents," he says, "and how they've instilled their tradition. They were born in Haiti, and our family, I don't even know how many family members we have. We have so many family members that just come together and we adopt anyone into our family. We instill that, and it's very big. I think that even comes to feel like a team environment.

"Everyone loves everyone. Everyone's very accepting of whoever the person is, no matter what. Once you're in our family, you're welcome."

Family is, of course, a primary motivator. It's why Pierre plans to give his debut shirt to his parents. He already knows where it will go, and he knows that it will give him some fun bragging rights, too.

"We have a basement, and it's all my stuff, my accomplishments, my sister's accomplishments, and my brother's, too," he says. "Hopefully, that goes right in the center now, so everyone sees it in the house. My mom and dad were like, 'Don't even think about giving it away, this is going downstairs, this is ours'. When we're in the house, we can look back at this and be happy."

As Pierre finishes his answer, Pochettino walks by and offers some feedback.

"I already told him, 'If not soccer, he can be America's Next Top Model'."

Pierre bursts out laughing.

"Oh goodness," he says. "I'll take his word for it. I'll take it."

Set pieces, DJing, defending and, apparently, modeling - add them to the list of things Pierre can do. Cooking may get there someday, although that will be tougher. It's all a work in progress, to be fair, as is Pierre, who continues to work to show that he's bigger than his height.

"Obviously that's not the only thing about me," he says. "It is a little bit, but I ain't mad at it."