All things considered, being a Utah sports fan can be an arduous task. The Utah Jazz, after previously emerging as one of the NBA’s top teams, have regressed to the league’s cellar and missed out on the playoffs four years in a row. The Utah Mammoth, after missing the postseason in their maiden NHL season, lost to the Las Vegas Knights in the opening round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. But as for Real Salt Lake, they are fast establishing themselves as one of the premium sides in the MLS’ Western Conference, and one man who has proven essential is Zavier Gozo.
Background
Born on March 22, 2007, to an Ivorian father and an American mother, Gozo was raised in the Salt Lake City suburbs and is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Two years after joining RSL’s academy, Gozo made his first-team debut on October 15, 2023, but it wasn’t until the 2025 campaign that he became a full-fledged MLS player, bagging 4 goals and 3 assists in 31 appearances across all competitions. This season, however, Gozo has taken it up a notch and established himself as one of the top young players in North America.
Playing Style
Operating on the right side of attack, Gozo is constantly seeking to get on the ball and square up his man before bewildering him with his sensational dribbling skills and close control. Comfortable with either foot, Gozo is a constant nightmare to mark in 1v1 situations, but he’s also making the difference thanks to his athleticism and his attacking instincts. He isn’t just going to spellbind defenders with his technical efficiency; he’s going to keep them honest with his relentless off-the-ball runs. He’s the closest thing that the USA have to Lamine Yamal: a player who is equally efficient as a chance creator as a finisher as a dribbling menace, and whose explosive performances are only being emboldened by his skyrocketing confidence.
We saw an example of this in the second week of the 2026 season against Seattle Sounders. Gozo tracked the ball on his chest and eluded both Nouhou Tolo and Paul Rothrock before leaving captain Cristian Roldán in his dust with a remarkable change of direction. Gozo sowed the seeds of discord in Seattle’s defense to the point where they were far too discombobulated to prevent RSL’s opening goal. Shortly after, he put on the afterburners to chase down a through ball before unselfishly dishing it off for Aiden Herzarkhani to convert the winning score. One week later, Gozo combined his incisive off-the-ball movement with his world-class first touch to find himself 1v1 with Atlanta United’s Juan Berrocal, before executing a brilliant stepover and chiseling in a superb left-footed finish into the far-right corner.
All-Around Workrate
For such a flashy winger, you might expect Gozo to switch off when he’s not on the ball. Instead, he sets the standard with his tireless work out of possession, operating as a makeshift right wingback and enabling the likes of Diego Luna and Sergi Solans to be positioned further forward and focus on pressing the opposing defense. Gozo has refined his defensive instincts under Pablo Mastroeni and has become a multifaceted player, one that can constantly create goal-scoring situations without sacrificing too much in defense, as evidenced by his team-high 2.6 tackles per game. He’s created 7 big chances this season, as many as the likes of Lionel Messi and Heung-min Son, whilst he leads RSL in various metrics like successful dribbles per 90 (1.7), shots (3.5) and shots on target (1.4) per 90.
He has continued to make his presence felt in recent weeks, bagging a goal and assist vs. Sporting Kansas City and an assist vs. San Diego FC, before opening the scoring in a 2-0 win against Portland Timbers on Saturday.
Such is his evident superstar potential that it seems all but certain that Gozo will make the move to Europe in the coming weeks. Speaking to MLS on Air last week, he confirmed, “In the summer window, obviously, I would like to go to Europe. That’s been my dream for as long as I could remember. So I think that’s the perfect time for me to take the next step, and if I have that opportunity, I 100% want to take it.”
World Cup Bound?
Having already represented the USA at the U15, U16, U19, U20 and U23 level, it remains to be seen whether or not the teenage forward will make his USMNT debut in this summer’s FIFA World Cup.
However, one thing’s for sure. Whether he plays in the World Cup or not, Zavier Gozo has already achieved something far more important: he’s proving to millions of boys and girls across The Beehive State that they can achieve their dreams of becoming a professional soccer player. And even if he only has a few weeks left at the America First Field, there’s no doubt that his impact will be felt for much longer.
