Brenden Aaronson is one of myriad United States men’s national team stars making their World Cup debuts in Qatar, and the young squad is off to quite the start at the tournament.
Aaronson, a 22-year-old midfielder who plays professionally for Premier League side Leeds United, subbed in for the injured Christian Pulisic in the second half of Tuesday’s match against Iran. Pulisic took a painful-looking blow to the midsection as he scored the match’s lone goal, which proved enough to send the USMNT through to the knockout round, where they will face the Netherlands on Saturday.