Jordan Morris Couldn't win Budweiser Man of the Match vs. Mexico Because ...

Jordan Morris is a sophomore at Stanford. He also — because of Jurgen Klinsmann’s kooky, mad scientist approach toward building a roster — is receiving regular playing time with the United States Men’s National Soccer Team in 2015. What a country, right?

Morris is the first collegian to play for the USMNT since 1995, i.e. before MLS became a reality. (Morris’ MLS rights are owned by Seattle, but so far he’s elected to stay in school.) Wednesday night, Morris scored his first international goal in the U.S.’s 2-0 win over Mexico at the Alamodome. Overall it was a very non-descript game, attributable to the makeshift rosters deployed by both teams since the game didn’t fall on a FIFA-sanctioned date when clubs must release their players. Both teams, too, didn’t press too hard on a temporary grass field installed so both national federations could collect the ticket sales check from 64,000 in attendance.

But whatever, Morris proved to be a bright spot. A bright enough spot to warrant consideration for man of the match honors … except for one tiny little problem(*):

Jordan Morris was considered for Man of the Match but it turned out he isn't eligible because it's sponsored by Budweiser and he's only 20
— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) April 16, 2015

As is the wont with U.S. soccer, the inclination is to jump overboard about Morris and think he’s the next big thing. Given the track record with U.S. Soccer and the “next big thing” a cautious approach is worth taking. One goal, even if its against Mexico, does not a career make. Consider this quote from Morris after the match:

"“It hasn’t even sunk in yet,” Morris said. “I don’t even know what class I have got when I go back to school. I can’t think straight.”"

Something else to consider. Although I hate comparing English soccer to America, it’s easy to work with given the similarities if only through a common tongue and the EPL’s saturation on U.S. television. For whatever it’s worth Raheem Sterling is younger than Morris, while players like Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Harry Kane are 21 and playing regular minutes in the Premier League. So in a different light, yeah, a 20-year-old college kid scoring for the USMNT is a nice story … but it’s probably not the ideal path toward developing top-level players either.

Then again, in the last three decades nobody’s figured out (or agreed upon) the best way to rear elite soccer players in America, so maybe Klinsmann’s different approach that casts a wide net to include a guy like Morris might eventually pay off.

(*) A college kid associated with cheap, domestic beer is obviously a terrible message to send, right?