Stanford sophomore Jordan Morris earned his first United States senior team cap this past Tuesday evening, as the Stars and Stripes were in Dublin to contest a friendly against the Republic of Ireland.
It was a historic day for @stanfordmsoccer‘s Jordan Morris and the #USMNT yesterday. http://t.co/GdsJu4M2RB pic.twitter.com/DFpClJrbHk
— Pac-12 Networks (@Pac12Networks) November 19, 2014
With 76 minutes gone in the match, Morris replaced Timmy Chandler. Sporting the number 24 shirt, the Mercer Island, Washington native was deployed in the wide left position of a fairly straightforward 4-4-2 formation.
Morris had just over a quarter of an hour to show his worth to manager Jurgen Klinsmann. The German coach has touted the Stanford attacker as one for the future, and patrolled the edge of his technical area for the entirety of Morris’ run out.
The debutant’s first touch in the red, white and blue was a simple layoff to a teammate, but the All-Pac-12 First Teamer didn’t take long to warm to the match.
Only minutes after coming on, Morris was the target of Mix Diskeroud’s long ball to the left corner. A deft touch from the orange boots of Morris resulted in instant control as the 20-year-old was able to get his head up and pick out a pass. Morris played a ball cleanly to an arriving Greg Garza, whose first-time effort forced Irish keeper Shay Given into a decent save.
The United States conceded two goals during Morris’ stint on the pitch, but he lacked responsibility in either. In total, it was a poor performance from the Americans, as they lost the match 4-1 to continue their post-World Cup run of lackadaisical form.
Morris’ debut has to be one of the brighter spots from the otherwise dreary match from Klinsmann’s perspective. The Seattle Sounders Academy product looked the part from beginning to end, and showed a willingness to get stuck in as he drew a yellow card from Irish defender Aiden McGeady.
The sophomore is the 50th player to be deployed for the senior team this year, which shows that Klinsmann is scraping the depths of the talent pool in search of players for the 2018 World Cup and beyond.
It is a great honor to be selected for a national team, and Morris carried himself with a quiet confidence and the quality to match. The youngster never looked out of place, and if things continue in the same manner for the boy, we may be seeing him the USMNT strip for years to come.
Contact Will Drinkwater at willydri ‘at’ stanford.edu.