Aaronson brothers have chance to make history as USMNT teammates

Brenden Aaronson and younger brother Paxten Aaronson just missed out on the chance to share the field as Philadelphia Union teammates in their stints playing for their hometown club but with the Medford, N.J. natives both in Mauricio Pochettino roster for the Concacaf Gold Cup they have a chance to achieve a rare brotherly feat.

Should they share the field in the upcoming Gold Cup, Brenden and Paxten will become the first set of brothers since James and Russell Murphy in 1957 to share the field for the USMNT in an official match.

Paxten was a late addition to Pochettino’s roster (along with current Union defender Nathan Harriel) and he was sitting next to Brenden when he got the call that he would be part of the team.

Now with the U.S. facing Turkey in a Gold Cup warm-up in Hartford, the Aaronsons have a chance to become just the eighth set of brothers to play in a USMNT natch together and the first since Ken and Steve Snow in a friendly against Costa Rica in 1988. A total of 10 sets of brothers have been part of the USMNT.

For the Aaronsons, pushing each other in their development – and stepping on a few toes along the way – has been the story of their journey to MLS and beyond.

“I know I wouldn’t be where I was if it wasn’t for this guy and my dad,” Brenden said, referring to his brother Paxten on a Zoom call with media earlier this week. “It’s always amazing. I say it. I don’t know how these guys do it without having a younger brother, someone to train with, you know?”

Despite the age difference, Paxten would sometimes play up three age groups to play with Brenden. Like in a 3v3 tournament in Florida.

“It was 3v3 in the dead heat and I was just kind of the guy on the bench that was like a super sub,” Paxten recalled.

While Brenden is coming off a English Championship-winning season with Leeds United, Paxten is coming off his strongest campaign as a pro yet with 9 goals and 4 assists in all competitions for Dutch club Utrecht FC. He’s also found success playing in multiple positions, including dropping back into the 6 and playing as a box-to-box midfielder.

“Seeing that he was added to the roster was an incredibly proud moment,” Brenden said. “Because, first of all, I think he really deserved it. I mean, he played an amazing season. I probably watched almost every game that I could, unless I had a game at the time, and he was the best performer on the team, I thought, for the consistency that he played at and the goals and assists that he scored.”

Paxten of course has more than just his brother in the locker room with the USMNT to make him feel at home. The Aaronsons are just two of seven players in the squad with ties to the Philadelphia Union and their lauded academy.

“When I first came to the first team, it was when Brenden and Mark (McKenzie) were on their way out, and I kind of also joined the first team with Quinn (Sullivan), Jack (McGlynn) and Nate (Harriel),” Paxten said. “We were kind of the next cycle up as Brenden and Mark started to leave. So at that point it was like all eight of us, including (Matt) Freese training together at one point. And then when you look now seeing everybody in the national team situation, it’s really cool to see when you walk in just a bunch of familiar faces.”

Among those Union-connected players, Quinn Sullivan has a chance to make his USMNT debut today in Hartford along with Freese, an Episcopal Academy grad who made 13 appearances for the Union during his time with the first team from 2019-2022.

Paxten has just one senior national team cap to his name while Brenden has 38.

Today’s match is slated for 3;30 p.m.