TAMPA, Fla. ā Jordan Morris knows he canāt control whether heās on the plane to Russia for the World Cup next summer.
But heāll do everything in his power to put himself in position. Wednesday night on a wet track in Tampa, that meant making the often-unheralded near-post run.
āI canāt worry about making the World Cup team or my roster spot or things beyond my control,ā Morris said after bagging the first brace of his international career in the US national teamās 3-2 victory over Martinique. āWhat I can do is make the runs coach stresses, do whatās best for the team, and play hard, impact winning.ā
After a first half where Arena said his team āwasnāt sharpā in the final third, Morris said Arena went back to a common point of emphasis: having one forward sacrifice himself by surging towards the near post to create space around him.
āBruce stresses that he wants a forward to make a near post run and sacrifice to make space,ā Morris said of his opening goal. āI did that, and then [Eric] Lichaj played a great ball.ā
Itās a run Cristian Roldan has seen his Seattle Sounders teammate make time and time again, playing off Clint Dempsey for the defending MLS Cup champions.
āEvery coach wants a forward to attack the near post, but sometimes thatās just a space-creating run,ā Roldan said. āJordan does that all the time and it was good to see him get the goal, especially on a play that started from the left side and was just good ball movement. We rotated it all the way out right and Eric played a beautiful ball.ā
Morris also delivered when the team needed him most, and again because he finished a run.
Following a stunning Martinique equalizer on a rebound from Johan Audel, the US appeared on the verge of another disappointing draw. But Morris took a ball in the center of the park and played it on the ground through to Gyasi Zardes. Sensing space in the box, he shouted and waved for Zardes to play the ball back to him.
āGyasi made a great run and I saw space at the PK spot and attacked the space. [Zardes] made a great pass and we got a big goal.ā
While Morris is right that he canāt control whether he makes a World Cup roster, his performance garnered praise from the one man who can: Arena.
āJordan runs very well in the penalty area,ā said the USMNT coach. āWe told the guys at halftime we needed to attack the near post and he responded. Then he finished another run for a second goal. He had an overall good game tonight with Juan [Agudelo]. It definitely made a good impression.ā