Brenden Aaronson Misses World Cup Training for Wedding

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Brenden Aaronson missed U.S. World Cup training on Friday. For once, nobody asked him to fight for his place.

The Leeds United midfielder had a different appointment: his wedding.

Aaronson tied the knot with longtime girlfriend Milana D’Ambra, whose roots in the game run just as deep. She is the daughter of Saint Joseph’s men’s soccer coach Don D’Ambra, a familiar name in American college circles. Football wasn’t the center of the day, but it was never far from the guest list.

The 25-year-old left U.S. camp after Thursday’s session, with the blessing of the national team staff, and is scheduled to be back in time for training on Saturday. One day in a suit, the next back in training gear. Life moves fast at this level.

Aaronson is no stranger to balancing big stages. A member of the 2022 U.S. World Cup squad and now with Leeds in the Premier League, he comes out of one of American soccer’s most recognizable families, raised on the game in Medford, New Jersey.

His younger brother Paxten is carving out his own path with the Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer. Sister Jaden stepped into the college game last fall as a freshman at Villanova. Their father, Rusty, oversees development at Real Futbol Academy in Medford as sporting director. For the Aaronsons, the sport is not just a profession; it is the family language.

This is not the first time the U.S. setup has bent to accommodate a milestone. Back in 2016, a teenage Christian Pulisic skipped a national team training session to attend his Hershey High School prom at the Hershey Hotel in Pennsylvania. He rejoined the squad the next day and went straight into Copa America duty against Bolivia in Kansas City, Kansas.

From prom nights to wedding days, the U.S. program has occasionally stepped aside for life’s biggest moments. The expectation, as always, is that when the players step back over the white line, they repay that trust.