Author: Jonathan Tannenwald

LEEDS, England — When Brenden Aaronson joined Leeds United in 2022, the fans welcomed him in their traditional way: They wrote him a song.

Come to Elland Road and you will see him play.

Signed from Red Bull Salzburg and he’s here to stay.

I really want to live in Beeston with you.

You’ll be my American boy, American boy.

Since then, relations between Leeds fans and the Medford native haven’t always been so warm. In Beeston, the Leeds suburb near the club’s Elland Road stadium, they remain scarred by his season-long loan to Germany’s Union Berlin after the Peacocks were relegated from the Premier League in 2023.

A giant banner on the outside of Elland Road’s main stand proclaims “Side before self,” a quote from Leeds legend Billy Bremner. He captained the team during its most famous era, including league championships in 1969 and ’74, the 1972 FA Cup title and three more finals, and the 1975 European Cup final. Every player who has entered the gates since then has been held to his words.

Aaronson is also chased by a criticism he gets from U.S. men’s national team fans, too: He doesn’t score enough goals as an attacking midfielder. That one carries more weight at the moment.

Lately, though, the tides on both sides of the Atlantic have turned back in Aaronson’s favor.

In the U.S., his high energy and pressing have earned Mauricio Pochettino’s respect. In Leeds, he had two assists and many more plays that could have added more as the club went seven games unbeaten from Dec. 3 through New Year’s Day.

Then came this past Sunday, and perhaps the most famous game of all in these parts. Elland Road is an electric venue on any day, but it goes to another level when Manchester United visits from across the Pennine Hills.

It was the 114th clash between the clubs, the modern version of a regional rivalry between Leeds’ Yorkshire and Manchester’s Lancashire that dates back to the 15th century. Though it was a 7:30 a.m. kickoff in Philadelphia, if you woke up in time, you’d have been jolted out of bed by Leeds’ fans singing their club anthem, “Marching On Together.”

Flying Philly’s flag worldwide

With that as the backdrop, where better to start this World Cup year than at the home of the most successful men’s soccer player from the Philadelphia area?

Yes, Aaronson has earned that title now. Though other local products have played on big stages, none has his trifecta of Premier League, Champions League, and World Cup experience. And if Aaronson makes this year’s World Cup squad, it will be his second — a feat Peter Vermes, Bobby Convey, and Chris Albright did not achieve.

That counts for something, just like the ability to watch a hometown hero play on the Premier League stage on TV every week. Leeds might not be as big of a club in Philadelphia as longtime powers like Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool, but children can grow up now wanting to emulate the 25-year-old whom Union fans once called “the Medford Messi.”

“It means the world,” Aaronson told The Inquirer. “When I’m able to see young kids back home — it’s possible to get over here, you know. It might not be easy sometimes to get to Europe being an American, but it’s always possible to play in the best leagues in the world. And for the kids, just keep believing in themselves and keep chasing their dreams.”

To some U.S. national team observers, Aaronson gets credit simply for being a regular player in the Premier League. Just four men have that status right now: he, Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), and Antonee Robinson (Fulham).

But if goals are what you care about most, you got what you asked for on Sunday. Aaronson scored his second of the season, sprinting past Ayden Heaven in the 62nd minute to grab a loose ball and slot it to the far corner. Elland Road roared as Aaronson sprinted to a corner of the Norman Hunter Stand, mock-shrugging in celebration then getting a hoist in the air from teammate Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

“That one felt really good, to be honest with you,” Aaronson said. “Of course, to score against your rival is huge, and I’m really proud of it. And keep going from here.”

Alas, Manchester United equalized just three minutes later, jumping on Leeds’ own defensive error. That was it for the day’s scoring, though Leeds had a few shots at a late winner that it couldn’t finish.

Winning over critics in Leeds

Aaronson had a strong day all over the field, throwing himself into eight defensive recoveries along with his attacking play. When he was subbed out in the 87th minute, the jam-packed crowd of 36,909 gave him a warm ovation.

Asked if he noticed the fans’ change of mood, Aaronson said, “For sure — I think it’s really good. But for myself, I’ve kind of kept this mentality of just staying straight and not letting myself get too high, not letting myself to get too low.”

Views on him have changed in the media, too. Graham Smyth, a veteran Leeds United beat reporter for the Yorkshire Evening Post newspaper, noted how Leeds manager Daniel Farke recently said Aaronson “polarizes opinion.” But Smyth’s player ratings for games show Aaronson’s rise in form and popularity. Aaronson earned an 8 out of 10 on Sunday, a level he has reached a few times recently.

“Right now, I don’t think anyone would disagree that he’s probably in his best moment as a Leeds player,” Smyth said. “The performances he’s managed to put in over the last couple of weeks, the end product that he’s managed to add to it as well — I don’t think I can remember a period where he has silenced his critics quite as effectively as this last little period.”

A moment later, he added something that would sound as familiar in Haddonfield as it does in Harrogate.

“Leeds fans have very long memories, and they don’t forgive easily,” Smyth said. “They don’t suffer fools lightly, and they don’t forgive easily. But there is always a route back to popularity if you’re an attacker, and it’s very simple: Score goals, make goals, because everyone celebrates them. And that’s the way for Aaronson.”

As coincidental as it was that Aaronson’s hometown newspaper watched him score, it also happened that some of his family were in attendance: father Rusty, mother Janell, sister Jaden (who just finished her freshman season on Villanova’s women’s soccer team), and fiancée Milana D’Ambra. While D’Ambra is able to spend a decent amount of time in England, Aaronson said his immediate family comes over “once or twice a year.”

They picked a good one.

“I think when they come out, to be honest, I probably have some of my best performances, so it was good,” Aaronson said. “It’s really good to have them out, always. It’s like home coming to you.”

The race for the World Cup

With six months to go until kickoff, the World Cup is also on his mind. There’s a big step to take before then, as he aims to make the squad for the U.S. team’s high-profile March friendlies against Portugal and Belgium. Those will be the last games before the tournament roster is named in late May.

Aaronson politely said making the team is “out of my control, so [I] just keep trying to perform the best on the field and I just go from there.” He also has plenty on his plate right now as Leeds try to avoid relegation from the Premier League, after having returned this season. In the previous two campaigns, the three teams that came up went straight down again, so Leeds has to buck a trend.

But he can hear two clocks ticking: the 154-year-old one on the Time Ball Buildings in Leeds’ city center, and the brand-new one at U.S. Soccer’s national training center in suburban Atlanta. The Premier League season ends on May 24, and the World Cup team will begin assembling the next day.

Pochettino and his staff will have noticed not just Aaronson’s good play lately, but how a tactical shift by Leeds manager Daniel Farke has helped. The 3-5-2 formation that Farke switched to recently puts Aaronson in a midfield spot that’s similar to where he plays for the U.S. — perhaps slightly deeper to start, but with latitude to press, get forward, and push the attack.

“It’s nice when you can play three in the back, because you have a little more freedom as an attacking player where you’re not having to defend as much,” Aaronson said. “So you kind of have the energy and you kind of have the legs to then, with the ball, do things. I really like playing the position when we play in a three-back [setup].”

On Sunday, Farke tweaked it a little, withdrawing one of the forwards to make it even more like Pochettino’s 3-4-2-1.

“I think for Brenden, it’s just important that you use him where he can play to his strengths,” Farke said. “I would never use him as a winger who just runs to the corner flag and puts some crosses in. So if he plays as a winger, then he has to have license to move into the pocket, to play closer to the striker, to play give-and-goes, and to use his mobility, and also that he likes to open up between the lines.”

He also said that Aaronson “deserves all the plaudits at the moment, because his work rate is and was never in doubt. He always works his socks off for the team.”

It was not the first time Farke praised Aaronson publicly, and some of the past times were when the player wasn’t doing so well. Aaronson gave his boss thanks for the support.

“It’s always great to know that the coach has your back, and for him to say the things that he’s said about me, it’s huge,” he said. “I think he really believes in me, he believes in my quality, and it means a lot when you’re a player because you feel like you can go out there and do your thing.”

With 48 teams spread across 12 groups in a World Cup for the first time, the 72 group-stage games next summer will be a lot to take in.

Here are our picks for the top 10 to watch, in chronological order. In two cases, we’ll note the ones we would have put at the top of a ranking by quality.

Canada vs. Italy

If Italy wins its qualifying playoff

Group B, 3 p.m. June 12 in Toronto

There are a lot of great stories across the 48 teams, especially the many first-timers and first-in-a-long-timers. But that doesn’t mean there are a lot of must-circle games. In truth, a tournament this big — too big for a lot of tastes — could create a diluted group stage.

But don’t tell that to the northernmost of the three cohosts. This will be the first men’s World Cup played on Canadian soil, and the Canucks will start against the winner of the European playoff bracket with Italy, Northern Ireland, Wales, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

If Italy emerges from that qualifying playoff, a Canada-Italy matchup in a city with a raucous Italian expat community would be electric. (It also likely would be as expensive a ticket at Toronto’s 45,736-seat stadium as a custom Armani suit.)

The Azzuri are favored to win that bracket, but not a slam dunk. They’ve missed the last two World Cups in catastrophic fashion, and if they beat Northern Ireland, they’ll have to face Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina on the road. If they get the job done, you’ll hear the cheers from College and Bathurst up north all the way to Passyunk and Snyder down south.

Brazil vs. Morocco

Group C, 6 p.m. June 13 in East Rutherford, N.J.

Group C will have the most fun vibes, with Scotland and Haiti as the other teams — both are ending decades-long waits to return to men’s soccer’s biggest stage. Their fan bases will be boisterous, and the Scots’ Tartan Army will be massive. But in soccer terms, this will be the best matchup.

The Seleçao’s quest for an unparalleled sixth title goes through an African power that is loaded with talent and skill. Fans rightly will dream of watching Brazil’s Vinícius Júnior or Estêvão charge at Morocco’s all-world outside back Achraf Hakimi, and Hakimi will charge the other way at his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Marquinhos.

Netherlands vs. Japan

Group F, 4 p.m. June 14 in Arlington, Texas

This game also will feature lots of skill across the field.

The Dutch, forever in search of their first World Cup title, have midfielders Frenkie de Jong, Ryan Gravenberch, Tijjani Reijnders, and Xavi Simons in their prime, with Cody Gakpo up front. Japan counters with just as much class: Takefusa Kubo, Takumi Minamino, Kaoru Mitoma, and Ao Tanaka.

England vs. Croatia

Group L, 4 p.m. June 17 in Arlington, Texas

England will arrive in its former colonies as one of the favorites to win the World Cup, and for good reason. After decades of underachievement, the Three Lions finally have the right mix of talent, tactics, and chemistry to win it all.

Their toughest group test should be their opener, as Croatia’s ageless playmaker Luka Modrić matches wits with his former Real Madrid teammate Jude Bellingham. Both teams’ fans also haven’t forgotten that in their last World Cup meeting, Croatia memorably beat England on penalty kicks in the 2018 semifinals.

Mexico vs. South Korea

Group A, 9 p.m. June 18 in Guadalajara, Mexico

Eight years since their last meeting in a World Cup, they will cross paths again in what could be a wide-open game.

Mexico is under huge pressure to reach el quinto partido, a fifth game at a World Cup, for the first time since 1986 — perhaps not coincidentally the last time the tournament was on home turf. If Raúl Jiménez’s squad can topple Son Heung-Min’s squad, El Tri would take a big step in the right direction and toward winning the group.

Expect many eyes south of the Rio Grande to be on Gilberto Mora, a 17-year-old who is Mexico’s newest phenom. He looks like the real thing so far, but the World Cup is a stage beyond anything he’s seen.

Ecuador vs. Germany

Group E, 4 p.m. June 25 East Rutherford, N.J.

World Cup upsets don’t have the same stakes as in the NCAA Tournament, but picking them is always trendy. This one goes to the top of the list, with a potential midfield battle of Germany’s Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala vs. Ecuador’s Moisés Caicedo and Kendry Páez.

U.S. vs. Turkey

If Turkey wins its qualifying playoff

Group D, 10 p.m. June 25 in Inglewood, Calif.

Though the U.S. has one of the easiest groups it could have wanted, this potential matchup is here on merit. Arda Güler and Kenan Yıldız are great young playmakers, and they have Hakan Çalhanoğlu’s veteran experience behind them.

When these teams met in June, Turkey beat a far-from-top-quality American squad. Now, the big names might take their shot. And since this is the Group D finale, the winner could take first place.

It’s just a shame that FIFA and whoever else was in the room decided to stick the kickoff time so late on a Thursday night for most of the country.

Norway vs. France

Group I, 3 p.m. June 26 in Foxborough, Mass.

For all the gaudiness of the World Cup draw’s entertainment acts, you could hear a pin drop in the Kennedy Center’s fabled Concert Hall when the serious business started. Then, every once in a while, the crowd would gasp.

The onlookers gasped mightily when Norway landed in France’s group.

The striker duel of Les Bleus’ Kylian Mbappé and the Landslaget’s Erling Haaland will be the biggest superstar clash of the group stage. In the midfield, Norway’s terrific playmaker Martin Ødegaard could clash with France’s N’Golo Kanté or Aurélien Tchouaméni.

It will be the group-stage finale for both teams, too, with France aiming to take another step toward a third straight men’s World Cup final. That makes this game No. 2 behind Brazil-Morocco as the best overall.

Uruguay vs. Spain

Group H, 8 p.m. June 26 in Guadalajara

This game might turn out to be a dud because Uruguay has been playing pretty badly lately and doesn’t look like it will turn it around before the summer. But Federico Valverde play against a slew of players he knows well as a Real Madrid stalwart.

Spain will be worth watching no matter what. Electric teenager Lamine Yamal is the world’s game’s new superstar, and La Roja’s list of talents is among the sport’s longest: Gavi, Pedri, Rodri, Mikel Merino, Dani Olmo, Nico Williams, Martín Zubimendi, and more.

Colombia vs. Portugal

Group K, 7:30 p.m. June 27 in Miami Gardens, Fla.

If Jamaica wins its intercontinental playoff bracket, Andre Blake would face Cristiano Ronaldo in the Reggae Boyz’ first men’s World Cup game since 1998. But since that’s not guaranteed — and really not guaranteed right now, given how Jamaica failed in Concacaf qualifying — we’ll pick a certainty.

In particular, we’ll pick the certainty of Colombia’s outstanding fan base. The Cafeteros always have boisterous backing in the United States, thanks to the big expat community here, and they will be deafening in South Florida.

On the field, the marquee will have Ronaldo and Colombia’s Luis Díaz. But these days, Ronaldo isn’t his country’s best player. Vitinha, João Neves, and Rafael Leão are ahead of the biggest name.