Aaronson misses – Brenden Aaronson missed a World Cup training session on May 29 to attend his wedding in Medford, New Jersey, with USMNT staff signing off. He returns to team training in Georgia on Saturday ahead of friendlies versus Senegal and Germany and the World Cup opene
For one day in the middle of a World Cup buildup, the most important moment wasn’t on the field.
Brenden Aaronson missed a USMNT training session on Friday, May 29, because he was getting married. USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino signed off on Aaronson’s trip home to Medford, New Jersey, for the wedding festivities.
The U.S. squad was not just carrying on quietly in Fayetteville, Georgia, outside of Atlanta. Team plans included gathering around a laptop during team dinner so Aaronson and his fiancée. Milana D’Ambra. could exchange vows. Gio Reyna’s wife, Chloe, was in charge of FaceTiming the team from the ceremony.
Aaronson is expected to be back with the team in Georgia for training on Saturday.
Christian Roldan described the mood around the moment to the publication. saying. “We’re a family. and we want to make sure that everybody gets their moment together. So for us. it’s not a distraction at all. and in fact. Brenden had asked way ahead of time. he was a responsible young adult. to be able to do so. So credit to him, and the coaching staff was on board with it. … We’re all trying to be involved and have a good time with it.”.
The timing matters because Aaronson’s role in this tournament run is not a fringe one. He will be playing in his second World Cup, and he saw action in all four matches in the 2022 tournament. In his USMNT career, he has nine goals and seven assists across 57 caps.
Aaronson, 25, comes into this summer after a season with Leeds United in the Premier League. He made 37 appearances and netted four goals and five assists.
His family background runs deep in soccer. His brother, Paxten, is a midfielder for the Colorado Rapids and represented the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics. His sister, Jaden, plays for the soccer team at Villanova. Their father. Rusty. played college soccer at Monmouth and serves as the Sporting Director at Real Futbol Academy in their hometown.
D’Ambra’s life is tied to the sport as well. She shared a post on Instagram of her engagement to Aaronson in August 2024. saying the two have been dating since they were 16 years old. She played in college at Temple and is the daughter of Don D’Ambra. the head coach of the men’s soccer team at his alma mater. Saint Joseph’s. where he holds several records as a player. Don D’Ambra was previously a player and coach for the Philadelphia KiXX of the Major Indoor Soccer League.
The wedding also landed in a culture of shared experience among teammates. Mark McKenzie, a childhood friend and USMNT defender, joked that his former Philadelphia Union teammate “still hasn’t grown any facial hair.”
McKenzie’s comments came alongside his own memory of getting married during training camp before the 2024 Copa América tournament. “It’s exciting,” he told the publication. “You have an exciting summer in your career, and then an exciting moment in your life.”
This isn’t the first time the USMNT has bent its schedule around a player milestone. During USMNT training for the 2016 Copa América. Christian Pulisic was allowed to miss a day to attend his high school prom in Hershey. Pennsylvania. He hired a private plane to reach Kansas City in time for a friendly against Bolivia the next day. where he scored his first goal for the Stars and Stripes.
The U.S. team’s next test comes fast. The USMNT has two friendlies coming up: Sunday, May 31 against Senegal, and Saturday, June 6 against Germany. Then the World Cup campaign begins on Friday, June 12 with Group D play against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Inside this stretch, Aaronson’s wedding day stands out not because it interrupts the work, but because the staff made room for it—while the team kept moving toward kickoff on the calendar that matters most.
Brenden Aaronson Milana D’Ambra USMNT World Cup Mauricio Pochettino training friendlies Senegal Germany Paraguay SoFi Stadium Fayetteville Medford New Jersey