Get free access to the most comprehensive World Cup coverage in The Athletic app.FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — It is normally not a great sign when you show up 90 minutes late to your own rehearsal dinner.In this case, though, Brenden Aaronson’s family was willing to forgive the tardiness.Aaronson was named to the U.S. men’s national team 2026 World Cup roster on May 26. The only problem: When he and his then-fiancé, Milana D’Ambra, picked a date for their wedding more than two years ago, the expected start date for World Cup training camp was June 1.That date moved up by a week last December, which meant Aaronson’s wedding day, May 30, 2026, was now smack in the middle of World Cup training camp and two days before a friendly against Senegal.The Leeds winger got permission to leave U.S. camp to get to Manahawkin, N.J., for the ceremonies. He was late to the rehearsal dinner, got married on Friday and left at 2:30 a.m. on his wedding night to take a car service back to Philadelphia so that he could get to Atlanta in time for training on Saturday ahead of the friendly. Aaronson took the first commercial flight back and trained ahead of the game, though he was eased back into training.That crazy itinerary only added to what had been a fast-moving last week, with Aaronson closing out the Premier League season with Leeds before flying to New York for the roster announcement and then down to Atlanta for the start of camp ahead of the wedding.“For me it was a whirlwind couple of days, but also a really amazing whirlwind of days that I’m never gonna ever forget,” Aaronson said. “It was really special.”In the best man speech, Aaronson said his younger brother, Paxten Aaronson (Colorado Rapids; four USMNT caps), humorously recounted the panic when the couple learned their date was now in conflict with Aaronson’s dream of playing at a second consecutive World Cup.