Leeds United and United States midfielder Brenden Aaronson is with the Stars and Stripes this FIFA international window. Moreover, the 23-year-old is under the guidance of a new manager former Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino.
While it’s important for Aaronson to participate in these friendlies to get a feel for what to expect from Pochettino, Leeds supporters will be on eggshells, hoping that the player returns to Elland Road healthy.
The Whites have a marquee matchup against Sheffield United, who are promotional rivals vying for one of the two automatic spots in the Premier League next season. Moreover, the Yorkshire side are enduring an injury crisis, especially in the midfield.
Brenden Aaronson on former Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino
The U.S. will face Panama on October 12 at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, before heading to Guadalajara to play Mexico, its Concacaf rival. Aaronson mentioned that the team has already started to learn from the Argentine boss, which has added to the “buzz and excitement.”
“We’ve already learned a lot,” Aaronson said (h/t ESPN). “We learned about the style of play that we want to play today at training. One thing that we know for sure that we’ve really rehashed is the intensity of what we want to play at. We want to play at a high intensity. We want to play in the other team’s half. We want to have possession of the ball. He wants a confident team and that’s what we’re going to be.”
While the USMNT doesn’t have a designated home stadium, their match against Panama will mark their fifth game at Q2 Stadium. The Americans have won all four of their previous matches in Austin, with their most recent victory being a 3-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago in the Concacaf Nations League back in November 2023.
“We always seem to play well in Austin and have good games, so it’s always great coming back,” Aaronson said. “The love that we get from the fans and the fan base in Austin is really good too, so yeah just really excited to play and it’ll be a really good game against Panama.”
