US midfielder Aaronson gets one day off World Cup camp to get married

Brenden Aaronson, a midfielder for the US World Cup team, sat out training Friday in Fayetteville, Georgia. The 25-year-old Leeds player was getting married that day.

Aaronson wed Milana D'Ambra, his longtime girlfriend and daughter of Don D'Ambra, men's soccer coach at Saint Joseph's University. He left camp after Thursday's training session and planned to return in time for Saturday's practice.

Aaronson, from Medford, New Jersey, was also part of the US squad at the 2022 World Cup. His family has deep ties to soccer: his brother Paxten plays for Colorado Rapids in Major League Soccer, his sister Jaden played for Villanova, and their father Rusty is sporting director of Real Futbol Academy in Medford.

The US team has granted similar breaks before. In 2016, star player Christian Pulisic skipped training to attend his Hershey High School prom on May 27 at the Hershey Hotel in Pennsylvania, then returned to play the next day in a Copa America match against Bolivia in Kansas City, Kansas.