Brothers Brenden and Paxten Aaronson called up by USMNT for first time together

Update: On Nov. 13, midfielder Johnny Cardoso was withdrawn from the roster because of an ankle injury. No replacement was named.

Medford’s Brenden and Paxten Aaronson have been called up to the senior U.S. men’s national team at the same time for the first time in their careers, a historic achievement for the family and the Philadelphia soccer scene.

The brothers, who both came through the Union academy to play for the first team, are among 24 players on the squad for this month’s Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal series against Trinidad & Tobago. The first leg will be played Nov. 16 in Austin, Texas, and the second Nov. 20 in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

The games double as qualifying for next year’s marquee Copa América that the U.S. will guest-host, with all 10 South American national teams joining six from North and Central America. Though the U.S. is hosting, as part of the deal with South America’s confederation, it agreed to qualify like the rest of its regional brethren.

(We still don’t know which cities will host games, by the way, a subject of growing annoyance among American soccer circles.)

“This is a good opportunity, right, it’s very clear that at the end of these two games, we want to be in the semifinals of the Nations League. We want to be qualified for Copa America, and we have to do that as a unit,” U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter said Thursday over Zoom. “We’re a collective team, and it’s about everybody stepping up. We are used to this because of having to adapt to injuries before, and this is just something that the guys are completely comfortable with. We’ll give them the right confidence, and we are completely sure that the guys will be ready to play.”

Should the U.S. win this series as expected, it will qualify for the Copa América. The series loser will be drawn against a loser of the other quarterfinals: Costa Rica-Panama, Jamaica-Canada (which could be a great matchup), and Honduras-Mexico.

Both Aaronsons have played for the senior U.S. squad before. Brenden, 23, has done so 36 times; Paxten, 20, has done so once. Last Saturday, they played against each other as professionals for the first time when Brenden’s Union Berlin met Paxten’s Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany’s Bundesliga.

When asked about Paxten’s place on the roster, Berhalter had some high praise.

“What we see him as is a winger similar to Christian [Pulisic] in the fact that he gets in the penalty box, and he’s dangerous in front of goal,” Berhalter said. “He’s got an interesting profile with his quickness and his ability to get out a trouble. ... He’s got a lot of things that show us he’s going to be an excellent player in the future and now’s the time to give him an opportunity.

» READ MORE: Brenden Aaronson talks about what it means to play against his brother in Germany

They are the ninth set of brothers to play for the U.S. men, a history that dates back to 1925. The first duo, Archie and Tommy Stark, had a tie to one of the Philadelphia region’s most famous soccer teams: Archie played for Bethlehem Steel from 1924-30, helping the team win its fifth U.S. Open Cup title in 1926.

Bethlehem is still the joint-record holder for the most Open Cups won by any club, along with Maccabee Los Angeles of the 1970s and ‘80s.

Unfortunately, the good news stops there for the U.S. men. Star attackers Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah are out injured. Pulisic tweaked a hamstring in the final seconds of AC Milan’s Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, and Weah has been dealing with a thigh issue for a few weeks.

On the bright side, Berhalter seemed optimistic that Pulisic and Weah won’t be out for long.

“Both of them, it’s not too serious, but unfortunately they aren’t going to be able to participate in this camp,” said Berhalter. “And we see them on track to get back to play soon, but it’s too short of a deadline.”

Alex Zendejas, who’s been in strong form with Mexico’s Club América, and Wolfsburg’s Kevin Paredes are among the players called in to step up. Paxten Aaronson also could see minutes off the bench if Gio Reyna is shifted from central midfield to the wing. Berhalter was asked about Zendejas, who only joined the USMNT setup in January.

“We watch all his games. He’s been scoring a lot of goals lately,” Berhalter said. “Every player, I think, has to adapt to moving their club form into international form, and he’s a player that is still working on that. He’s a talented player. He’s a great player within the team, great player within the group. And for him, it’s just about getting an opportunity and taking advantage of it.”

Defensive midfielder and captain Tyler Adams remains out with a long-term hamstring injury, and Bear, Del.-born centerback Mark McKenzie and Media-born centerback Auston Trusty again did not make the cut.

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Goalkeepers (3): Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest, England), Gabriel “Gaga” Slonina (KAS Eupen, Belgium), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest, England)

Defenders (8): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic, Scotland), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo, Italy), Tim Ream (Fulham, England), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace, England), Antonee Robinson (Fulham, England), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany)

Midfielders (8): Paxten Aaronson (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Johnny Cardoso (Internacional, Brazil), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo, Spain), Lennard Maloney (Heidenheim, Germany), Weston McKennie (Juventus, Italy), Yunus Musah (AC Milan, Italy), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands)

Forwards (5): Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin, Germany), Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco, France), Kevin Paredes (VfL Wolfsburg, Germany), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Alex Zendejas (Club América, Mexico)

Nov. 16: at Q2 Stadium, Austin, Texas, 9 p.m. (TNT, Telemundo 62, Universo, Max, Peacock)

Nov. 20: at Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port of Spain, Trinidad, 7 p.m. (TNT, Universo, Max, Peacock)

» READ MORE: United States to host 2024 Copa América soccer tournament