Mauricio Pochettino defends Brenden Aaronson wedding leave before USA’s final World Cup warm-up | OneFootball

Mauricio Pochettino has defended allowing Leeds United midfielder Brenden Aaronson to miss a USA training session to get married, with Germany next in their final pre-World Cup friendly.

"The human being is always at the front of my mind." He told the Miami Herald.

Aaronson is in the 26-man squad and the United States set up in Atlanta to complete preparations before two warm-ups. He missed last Friday’s session to return to Medford for his wedding, rejoined a day later, then was an unused substitute against Senegal in North Carolina.

The team now face Germany at Soldier Field in Chicago on Saturday evening. "Players need to plan their lives, and the decision [to get married in late May] was made more than two years ago, before I took charge. At the time, FIFA didn't allow a national team to play a warm-up game before 1 June, and that was why they planned [the wedding]."

"I wanted to allow Brenden to go. I know the type of professional player he is."

"It's a good thing to let him celebrate... In the past, maybe people thought we [coaches] are all dictators. Maybe when I was a player, it was impossible."

"But today's society has evolved. Now we think about these things in more human terms than in the past. We were all happy."

"I am happy. He's happy. His wife is happy."

Source: yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk