Aaronson responds to USMNT snub by scoring in 33 seconds for Leeds United | OneFootball

Brenden Aaronson was arguably the most surprising name left out of Mauricio Pochettino's U.S. men's national team camp.

And if he was looking to send a message in the immediate aftermath of that snub, well, mission accomplished.

After trying in vain to get involved in the buildup to an early attack down the right flank, Aaronsen instead cleverly showed up in the right spot to poke home the final needed touch to send Leeds into the lead after only 33 seconds.

The goal was Aaronson's ninth during a grueling 39 games for Leeds (The EFL Championship plays a 46-match double round robin across its 24 teams.)

Harry Darling leveled from the second phase of a Swansea City corner in the 64th minute. Aaronson's day ended nine minutes later, and then things got wild late, with Wilfried Gnonto putting Leeds up again in the 86th minute only for Swansea to level again through Zan Vipotnik deep into second-half stoppage time.

That 2-2 result kept Leeds second in the race for the EFL Championship title and two promotion places, two points behind Sheffield United and ahead of Burnley on goal difference.

Did Brenden need a break?

Ironically, the strongest argument for leaving Aaronsen out of the USMNT squad may be just how many club minutes he's played this season. His 73-minute appearance on Saturday took his total for the year to 3,405 in all competitions. And The Whites of recent vintage have always played one of the more physically demanding styles in the game, meaning those aren't exactly easy minutes, even if Leeds are often bossing the opposition.

To put Aaronson's workload another way, his minutes total is already 15 minutes shy of playing every moment of a Premier League season, with still more than a month to go before the final EFL Championship matchday. There are also potentially up to three more matches looming following the league if Leeds are forced to settle for a promotion playoff place.

For Aaronson, it's easily the most club minutes he has played in his career. His current league total of 3,035 minutes is already several matches worth above his previous career high in league play of 2,372, set two seasons ago with Leeds in the Premier League.

Aaronson and Leeds United have a full week to prepare for their next league fixture, away to Luton Town next Saturday at 7:30 a.m. ET.