Fans worry as star player absent from USMNT camp

There will be a photo booth. And there will be oversized sunglasses, fuzzy cowboy hats, and fake facial hair. There’ll also be a chocolate fountain, probably an arch of pretty flowers, and maybe even a pick ‘n’ mix. The bar serves Dubai chocolate martinis and is that an entire section dedicated to Aperol Spritz?

Whatever it is, Brenden Aaronson will want absolutely none of it.

The Leeds United midfielder, when he’s being told by a German with long hair to roll around in the Yorkshire mud wearing polyester shorts and a hairband, he’s busy looking like a prisoner of war outside of the Dales’ many boutique coffee houses with his fiancée.

Jokes aside, he got married this weekend, and congratulations are in order, but it means that he’s not been present for the USMNT’s pre-game rituals as he gets on with the nuptials.

But fear not: Brendy will be back in time for the game on Sunday against Senegal, which will be played at Bank of America Stadium.

Gio Reyna’s wife, Chloe, is present at the wedding and will FaceTime the team so they can watch the ceremony from their hotel; goalkeeper Turner joked that they are ready and waiting “to welcome him back with something special.”

Aaronson played 42 times for Leeds last season, scoring 4 goals and getting 5 assists. While he won’t have paid for the wedding with his goal bonus alone, what he brings is much more than that. No player made as many high pressures in the entire Premier League than Aaronson, and he was a key part of the resurgence in Leeds’ season that eventually saw them pull away from the relegation fight and into the warm embrace of mid-table obscurity.

The USMNT begin against Paraguay on Friday, June 12 at 9:00 p.m. ET at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, before facing Australia on Friday, June 19 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Lumen Field in Seattle. Mauricio Pochettino’s side then return to Los Angeles for a final group-stage showdown with Turkey on Thursday, June 25 at 10:00 p.m. ET, again at SoFi Stadium.

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