Extra load placed on Leeds United attacker ahead of club's Premier League return after international showing
A Whites player has seen his load increased ahead of Leeds United’s Premier League return,
Leeds United attacker Brenden Aaronson has seen his season extended until at least the end of June following further international progress.
Aaronson is part of the USA squad competing at the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup and his team have now sealed qualification for the competition’s knockout stages with a game to spare.
Having hammered Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 in their first game of the group stages, the US took on Saudi Arabia in their second match of the tournament in the early hours of Friday morning.
Aaronson came off the bench to score against Trinidad and Tobago and was again named amongst the substitutes for the clash against Saudi Arabia.
42 places higher in the rankings
The US sit 42 places higher than Saudi Arabia in the FIFA World Rankings but it took until the 63rd minute for Mauricio Pochettino’s side to break the deadlock through Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards.
Aaronson was eventually brought on to replace Real Salt Lakes’s Diego Luna with 14 minutes left but there were no further goals as the US recorded a 1-0 success.
Pochettino’s men are now guaranteed a place in the quarter-finals ahead of Sunday’s group stage finals against Haiti.
As the likely winners of Group D, the US will probably find themselves playing the runners-up of Group A as part of the quarter-final fixtures that will take place on Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29. The competition does not finish until July 6 - the date of the final in Houston.