The speedy rise of City SC midfielder Aziel Jackson took another step on Friday.
Jackson, who didn’t make his first start with City SC until late June, was selected for the U.S. national team squad that begins training in Orlando, Florida, this weekend before the team’s first match of 2024, against Slovenia on Jan. 20 in San Antonio. He’s the first City SC player to be chosen for a national team camp while with the team.
“For sure, you always dream of playing for the national team, it’s a dream for any player to represent their country,†Jackson said. “I’m just grateful to have this opportunity.â€
The January camp is always a curious one for the national team, since it falls in a non-international window, meaning none of the club’s European-based players are available and it’s difficult to schedule top-level opponents. (Slovenia is ranked No. 54 by FIFA.) While many of the players in last year’s January camp saw action in the Gold Cup, only a handful were called in for Nations League or friendly matches when the team’s top European players were available. But over the years, 30 players to make their national team debuts in the January camp have played in the World Cup for the United States.
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It’s the first time Jackson has played for the United States at any level. He’s one of 17 players on the 25-man roster who has not played in a game with the senior team. Everyone on the roster plays in Major League Soccer.
“Everyone has a different pathway,†said U.S. national team coach Gregg Berhalter, “and it’s really nice to see him and what he’s done and how he’s come on and made an impact for a very, very strong ºüÀêÊÓƵ team. I think it’s interesting to work with guys like him who bring this unpredictability to the game. He’s a dribbler, a playmaker, and we’re excited to see how he fits into what we’re doing. Overall, a really interesting player and I’m looking forward to working with him.â€
So it’s a first step for Jackson, and something that seemed off the radar for him when he was playing in the first five games of the season for City2 in the MLS Next Pro developmental league.
“I just knew the right eyes would see me one day,†he said, “and had faith, and kept grinding, honestly, because a lot of this came from years of work, just getting here in ºüÀêÊÓƵ helped me show more people who AZ is.â€
AZ, as he’s called, is a 22-year-old midfielder who just completed his first full MLS season after spending two years in lower divisions after signing with Minnesota United after playing two seasons in France with Toulouse. City SC, impressed by how Jackson looked in an MLS Next Pro game for Minnesota against City2, acquired him in a trade in November of 2022.
As good as he looked in MLS Next Pro, it took him a while to transition to MLS. What little playing time he saw came in Open Cup games or late in MLS games. It wasn’t until June 24 against San Jose, when the team was playing its third game in eight days and went with a young lineup, that he made his first start. His time had come. That game turned out to be a breakout performance for several of the team’s younger players and he played every game the rest of the way, and started most of them, until sitting out the second playoff game with Kansas City.
It was easy to see what made Jackson special once he got into the lineup, with his ability to create on the ball. His four assists were fourth on the team though he played only 1,120 minutes. His passing percentage of 79.7 was sixth best on the team.
Now, less than a year after making his first-division debut, he’s in with the national team.
“I don’t feel like it was a million miles away,†he said, “just a buildup of a lot of preparations from when I was young to get to this point, even going back to MLS Next Pro and Minnesota 2. It started before there and before that, just grinding every day, working really hard mentally, physically, because you never know who’s watching, I feel like in soccer things can change quickly, just like in a soccer game, you can be down 1-0, 2-0m then win game 5-2. You never know how soccer happens and you have to be ready for every opportunity because that’s the make or break of the game and I feel with this opportunity, I was in the right spot and the right eyes saw me and I’m able to have this opportunity now and I’m really grateful for that.â€
Growing up in New Jersey, Jackson saw a lot of people he played with getting called in to youth national teams, but never him.
“It was frustrating not getting noticed by national team on the youth level,†he said, “but everything happens for reason and I’m happy it turned out this way because now I’m there and I want to take advantage of it. Looking back on the past is not going to help me now, so when I was younger I know I was really frustrated and upset and angry but it fueled me more every day.â€
Jackson is also eligible for the U.S. team at the Olympics this summer. The team has had two camps which he wasn’t called in, but the roster for this camp is a young one and the U.S. Olympic coaches will be taking part in it, so he’ll be seen by decision makers. He’s one of 13 Olympic-eligible players in camp.
“I feel like this camp will be a great platform for me to show what I can do,†he said, “and … to have my name in the conversation for the Olympics. It’s definitely a goal as well.â€
Jackson will miss the start of City SC training camp, which players report for on Saturday before heading to Florida on Monday.
Also invited into the camp is former ºüÀêÊÓƵ University goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, now with the Columbus Crew.
The full roster for the camp:
GOALKEEPERS (3): Drake Callender (Inter Miami), Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew)
DEFENDERS (10): Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union), DeJuan Jones (New England Revolution), Shaq Moore (Nashville SC), Ian Murphy (FC Cincinnati), Jackson Ragen (Seattle Sounders), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), James Sands (New York City FC), Nkosi Tafari (FC Dallas), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls), Caleb Wiley (Atlanta United)
MIDFIELDERS (6): Joshua Atencio (Seattle Sounders), Aziel Jackson (ºüÀêÊÓƵ City), Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew), Timmy Tillman (LAFC), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus Crew)
FORWARDS (6): Esmir Bajraktarevic (New England Revolution), Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes), Bernard Kamungo (FC Dallas), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Duncan McGuire (Orlando City), Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps)