Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Union 

Welcome! This roughly once-a-month column takes a look at some prominent and not-so-prominent former Union players and other Philly area natives now playing their soccer outside of the US. For this edition, with the World Cup kicking off, we’ll be looking at the 4 former Union members playing for the USA, another for Cape Verde, and one non-World Cup participant. Enjoy!

USA

Matt Freese

New York City FC – 27 years old – Goalkeeper – Union 2019-2022 – Wayne, PA

Freese earned the starting job for the US men’s national team over Matt Turner this summer, which led him to make his World Cup debut in the 4-1 win over Paraguay to kick off the tournament. Through 15 games with NYCFC in MLS this season, Freese has kept 3 clean sheets and conceded 21 times. There have been doubts about the former-Union prospect’s ability to make the saves he shouldn’t make, but he does well enough to almost always make the ones he should that the worries aren’t enough to prevent him from playing. Paraguay didn’t test Freese very much in the opener – he didn’t have to make even a single save – but his touches and claims looked solid as the US cruised to the win. He remained steady in the 2-0 win over Australia, making 2 saves and doing well to help his side keep a clean sheet. He’s likely to continue to get the nod in net throughout the tournament, a huge accomplishment for the Wayne native. 

Auston Trusty

Celtic FC – 27 years old – Center Back – Union 2016-2019 – Media, PA

Auston Trusty is the only one of the other three (aside from Freese) to get minutes at this year’s World Cup, having made a 10-minute cameo in the win over Australia. Trusty, a centerback with versatility on the left side, especially in this system, came on for left wingback Antonee Robinson. Trusty played unremarkably, but gaining match fitness and World Cup experience is valuable to a guy who’s made just 9 international caps.  Look for him to earn big minutes against Turkey as Robinson, among other starters, will be given a game to rest. 

Brenden Aaronson 

Leeds United – 25 years old – Attacking Mid – Union 2019-2021 – Medford, NJ

Aaronson has yet to feature in the 2026 World Cup, with head coach Mauricio Pochettino choosing to play the likes of Giovanni Reyna, Ricardo Pepi, and Malik Tillman over him. “Medford Messi” is among the most-capped players on this roster, and was one of a few to make an appearance in all 4 World Cup games in Qatar in 2022. He’s not gotten his chance yet, but will almost certainly be a key figure against Turkey on Thursday, given that neither team is playing for anything other than pride. 

Mark McKenzie

Toulouse FC – 27 years old – Center Back – Union 2018-2021 – The Bronx, NY

Mark McKenzie is like Aaronson a lot in this situation: neither has played yet this World Cup, both have a decent amount of caps, and both are likely to feature against Turkey. McKenzie is a centerback without much wide versatility, which pits him against Chris Richards and Tim Ream in the position battle, a battle he’s likely to lose (and has to this point). With the group already won, Richards, recently back from injury, and Ream being the grandpa of the group, watch for McKenzie to make his World Cup debut on Thursday night in LA. 

Cape Verde

Jamiro Monteiro

PEC Zwolle – 32 years old – Striker – Union 2019-2022 – Rotterdam, Netherlands

Jamiro Monteiro’s Cape Verde side has been one of the more fun and surprising teams in the tournament. Monteiro is one of the leaders of the team, which is making its debut as the third smallest team (by population) to ever play at a World Cup. He opened World Cup play with a 7.2 rating in a 0-0 draw against Spain, one of the top contenders in the field. He won a few ground duels, played smart yet dangerous passes, and was strong on both sides of the ball in his 79 minutes. In their second match, a 2-2 draw against Uruguay (another upset), Monteiro played 80 minutes, had a shot miss and another shot blocked, played four passes into the final third, and was only dispossessed once. Cape Verde needs a win over Saudi Arabia to go through, and Monteiro could be a really crucial part in helping his team get there. 

Former Union Abroad

Andrew Wooten

TuS Mechtersheim – 36 years old – Striker – Union 2019-2020 – Bamberg, West Germany

Andrew Wooten scored one time for the Union in 28 games across his COVID-ridden tenure in Chester, and has bounced around since. Wooten was a part of the 2020 Supporters’ Shield-winning side.  He spent a long time at SV Sandhausen before coming over to MLS, having spent his entire career at that point in Germany. After leaving the Union, he went to Admira Wacker in Austria, the only other club outside of Germany to ever employ Wooten.

I couldn’t find the exact tweet that had the info, but Wooten recently finished his club season as the highest-scoring American playing in Europe. For Tus Mechtersheim in the 6th tier of Germany, the one-time capped American scored 21 times in 25 games, a remarkable rate and a very solid figure. Mechtersheim won the league this season by 10 points, securing promotion in no small part due to Wooten. He’s nearing the end of his career now, but has shown no signs of slowing down.