Back with US national team, Auston Trusty part of Philadelphia youth soccer quartet

CHESTER, Pa. (AP) — Auston Trusty's first experiences with Mark McKenzie and Brenden Aaronson were as teens in a cramped youth soccer dressing room. Now 27, the defender is together with his long-time friends on the U.S. national team, all trying to earn spots on next year's World Cup roster. "When we think about it, we kind of laugh and say, like, that's crazy," Trusty related ahead of Saturday's friendly against Paraguay. "It's pretty cool to know that we've all kind of been in the same journey together." Trusty has moved from Philadelphia and Colorado in MLS to Arsenal, Birmingham, Sheffield United and now Glasgow Celtic. "To think back when we were in Wayne, Pennsylvania, in a small locker room, 70 of us squeezing in there and showering," McKenzie said. "We've come a long way." Trusty and McKenzie were a center back pairing for the Philadelphia Union's Bethlehem Steel farm team, in the third tier in 2016 and the second the following year, when Aaronson and current No. 1 American goalkeeper Matt Freese joined them. All four are products of the Union's youth academy, which this summer moved into the lavish WSFS Bank Sportsplex, a $100 million, 170,000-square-foot complex along the Delaware River and adjacent to the senior team's Subaru Park. Trusty's interest in soccer was sparked by watching his older sister Onnie, a defender who earned a letter for Florida State in 2006. While Aaronson and McKenzie debuted for the U.S. against Costa Rica in 2020, and Trusty played his first international in the CONCACAF Nations League at Grenada on March 24, 2023, Freese debuted against Turkey this past June and supplanted Matt Turner as the starter. Since Trusty's debut, his three national team appearances were all as a substitute, against Canada in June 2023, Mexico in October 2024 and Jamaica during coach Mauricio Pochettino's first camp last November. With Chris Richards and injured Celtic teammate Cameron Carter-Vickers absent, Trusty is one of only three central defenders in camp, joined by McKenzie and Tim Ream. Pochettino has been experimenting this fall with a three center-back formation, increasing the chance Trusty will see significant minutes during the games against No. 39 Paraguay and 15th-ranked Uruguay on Tuesday in Tampa, Florida. "He was always confident, but I think he's more confident," said Ream, captain of the No. 16 U.S. team. "He has a better — much better — kind of understanding of the different kind of positions, the different tactical shapes and, really, he's just gained a lot more experience and as a center back that's the biggest thing." During his year away from the national team, Trusty had been watching its games online despite the late-night and early morning starts. He's in Britain for his fourth club season. "It's dark and raining every day everywhere, so you kind of just get used to it," he said. He was a second-half substitute in Celtic's first three games, then felt pain in his right foot during a Champions League qualifier against Kazakhstan's Kairat Almaty on Aug. 20. Trusty was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis and didn't play again until Oct. 29. "Just bad timing, really," he said. "It's a tricky injury. It just has to heal. So at the bottom of your foot it doesn't have that much circulation and blood flow." Trusty returned six days after Carter-Vickers injured an Achilles against Sturm Graz in the Europa League and two days after Martin O'Neill replaced Brendan Rodgers as manager. Trusty has started Celtic's last four matches. "I know they're watching every single game," he said of the Pochettino's staff. Trusty assisted on Callum McGregor's go-ahead goal in extra time of a Scottish League Cup semifinal against Rangers and was selected man of the match in a Scottish Premier League game against Kilmarnock on Sunday. "He started to play and he played really well," Pochettino said. "We are a little bit short in that area." Trusty is left-footed and was paired with the right-footed Carter-Vickers at Celtic. "Luckily for the team I can play on right side comfortably," Trusty said. "It's not too often a lot of left footers, especially left center backs, can play on the right side comfortably. So, yeah, I've been able to step in and get some positive results." Trusty has a chance to play in his hometown for the first time since leaving the Union ahead of the 2020 season. The U.S. is training at the facility of the YSC Academy, the Union's education partner — Trusty has become a director. He's gotten 40 tickets for the game for family and friends. He hopes this becomes a step to being in the U.S. squad next summer for a World Cup the Americans will co-host. "Everything I do, everything I put myself into, it's all very, very calculated to put myself in the best chances for the national team — the national team and playing in the World Cup," he said. "It truly is everything to me."