Crew's Aidan Morris: 'My heart felt more comfortable' toward United States than Canada
The depth chart might have offered a slightly easier path to playing time. The coach for the next World Cup is already in place. Logically, there were reasons why the opportunity to represent Canada instead of the United States was weighing on Aidan Morris.
When it came time to make a decision, though Morris listened to his heart – and it told him to play for his home country.
“I think my heart felt more comfortable and more shaped towards the U.S. than Canada,” the Crew midfielder said following Wednesday’s training session. “That’s no disrespect towards Canada, it’s just where I’ve grown up and something I’ve been working towards my whole life.”
A rising star, the 21-year-old Morris appeared in two friendlies for the United States earlier this year but was not officially cap-tied to the program. In the meantime, Canada came calling owing to Morris’ father having been born there, and he appeared on the preliminary lists for both countries for Nations League and Gold Cup games this summer.
In an interview with ESPN this spring, Morris said he could potentially choose to play for neither team this summer while he sorts out his final decision. Monday, he was included on the final 23-man Gold Cup roster for the United States, indicating that his final decision was set.
Morris said he’s betting on his long-term success.
“It was a long process, first of all,” he said. “It was by far not an easy decision. It took time. I think the one thing I went with was at the end of my career I just didn’t want to regret anything. I knew the U.S. was going to be more of a long-term process. That’s just who I am and what I feel familiar with is working towards something and growing into something. I feel like that was more familiar for me.”
Signed as a Homegrown Player in 2020, Morris had played for the Crew’s academy from 2017-19 and represented the United States at the U-16 and U-20 levels. Morris made 10 appearances including two starts for the Crew in 2020, missed the entire 2021 season with a knee injury and this spring was signed to a contract extension through 2026 after having played in 27 games with 20 starts while earning the team’s Kirk Urso Heart Award.
That process of growing into a consistent MLS player is something Morris said he hopes to replicate now at the international level.
“In MLS, I have a process of gaining experience and understanding how the league works and this is the same thing,” he said. “International football is a little bit different. It’s learning from these games how to play and expressing the things I’m learning here on a daily basis and trying to implement them there.”
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Wednesday, Morris acknowledged that the depth chart for Canada would have likely resulted in a quicker path to the field. Canada also has a coach in John Herdman who will be on the sideline for the 2026 World Cup while the United States continues to search for Gregg Berhalter’s replacement. Morris said he’s enjoyed his conversations with Herdman and the members of the Canadian Soccer Federation, but his thoughts kept coming back to the next World Cup.
“Any decision in life as well is just your heart and where your heart’s at,” he said. “I think in 2026 hopefully I’ll be in a World Cup and I’ll be listening to the national anthem.”
And now we know that would be “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Heart leads Crew's Aidan Morris to pick United States ahead of Canada
