Jordan Morris brings new "level of intensity" into USMNT-Mexico

For those who remember it, it may feel like a lot longer than eight years.

Thanks to a chance encounter with then-head coach Jurgen Klinsmann and the US men’s national team in a pre-World Cup camp at Stanford University in 2014, Jordan Morris lived his first United States-Mexico match – and scored his first USMNT goal – well before his MLS debut. Nearly a year before, in fact.

Morris opened his senior international account in San Antonio, Texas almost exactly eight years ago, scoring the game-winner in a 2-0 Yanks victory over El Tri on a highly questionable temporary-grass pitch inside the Alamodome, which was packed with a record-setting crowd of more than 64,000 spectators, the majority Mexico supporters.

It was a non-FIFA-window exhibition very much like the one set for Glendale, Arizona on Wednesday, the first in a new annual series officially dubbed the “Allstate Continental Clásico.” That occasion, along with the 50 other caps Morris would rack up in the ensuing years, fueled the conviction with which interim USMNT coach Anthony Hudson called on the Seattle Sounders FC homegrown forward this week.

“He's someone that, when you play in games like this, when you have just a couple of days' worth of preparation, it's important to have some consistency in there,” Hudson told reporters after releasing his roster for the friendly earlier this week.

“You don't just hand players a spot in the national team just because they've been with us before. No, these guys are performing very well,” he added, referring to Morris and his Sounders/USMNT teammate Cristian Roldan, who’s also on the list. “They know how we do things, how we want to play, they’re really good to help strengthen and continue build our togetherness within the group.”

Morris: A polarizing player

In that light, it’s ironic that Morris’ case still tends to polarize opinions among the US fanbase, just as it did before he turned pro, passing on an opportunity at German Bundesliga side Werder Bremen to sign with his local club in 2016.

That said, he’s collected a Concacaf Champions League trophy, Gold Cup winner's medal and two MLS Cup titles since then. He arrives at this month’s camp as the early leader in the 2023 MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi race with eight goals, fuelling Seattle’s strong start with plentiful productivity from both the left wing and the striker role he’s retaken in the absence of star Designated Player Raúl Ruidíaz. 

Though Hudson dodged a question about whether he might use the Stanford alum as a No. 9, he sounded ready to ensure he gets on the field in Arizona.

“Jordan, I don't sort of get involved in all the noise. So I don't know what's ever said and I probably should, because just to know really what the players are having to deal with, and maybe we can help them with that,” said Hudson of the discourse around Morris. 

“From a playing point of view, this season Jordan, and I would say Roldan as well, they've been playing with … a new, another level of intensity. That's what I'm seeing,” he added. “There's a real mindset shift from both of them. 

“There's a different level of mindset and aggression and intensity to the way they're playing.”

Miazga returns (with fire)

This camp’s new faces are intriguing, like Atlanta United’s Caleb Wiley, rising MLS-based goalkeepers Drake Callender and Roman Celentano, and Joshua Wynder, a potentially paradigm-shifting 17-year-old center back prospect from USL Championship side Louisville City. And this exhibition meeting with El Tri is fundamentally just an appetizer for the high-stakes Concacaf Nations League semifinal in mid-June. 

Still, the border derby is the border derby. Hudson pointed to the value of familiarity with his intensity carried by returnees like James Sands, who’s back at New York City FC after a rollercoaster loan stint at Scotland's Rangers FC. Or Matt Miazga, now thriving at FC Cincinnati and forever part of US-Mexico lore – or banter, at the very least – thanks to his memorable square-up with El Tri winger Diego Lainez during a 2018 friendly win in Nashville. 

After a long, winding circuit of Europe in Chelsea FC’s infamous “loan army” which greatly complicated his USMNT ambitions, Miazga has found stability and success at FCC, who sit top of the Eastern Conference table via a 5W-0L-2D start to 2023. 

“Matt coming over here has given him the opportunity to get consistency, to get games. He's done well. He's now an experienced player. He's been in with us before,” said Hudson. “I think he's always been knocking on the door, right on the edge of coming in. And I think he deserves his chance to come in and be involved in this game.”

If someone like Miazga, who told the _Cincinnati Enquirer_ this week that he “was screwed over multiple times in the past” by USMNT roster decisions and “felt like I should be a part of that group throughout my career, especially the last few years,” brings a bit of extra edge to what is almost always a feverish environment, all the better for the team. 

“I have a good relationship with him the times I've worked with, been in camp with Matt,” said Hudson. “We're looking forward to having him come in, give us his experience in camp. He's been involved in games like this before, and he's in a good run of form.”