It was a busy weekend for the Boys in Blue abroad with a total of 10 internationals called into their respective national team set-ups for the FIFA International Window. Let’s whip around the world of friendlies and qualifiers for a look at how they are faring, and what's to come.
In Alex Callens' case, it was a short jaunt to Red Bull Arena, where the NYCFC Iron Man was on the subs list in Peru’s 1-0 friendly victory over Paraguay on March 22. Callens will be looking to get on the field tomorrow evening at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. when Peru takes on El Salvador to close out the international break.
Ronald Matarrita, who's back with Costa Rica, came off the bench in the 46’ minute in the teams 1-0 loss to Guatemala on Friday. Next up, the Ticos will be welcoming the Reggae Boyz to the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica tomorrow evening at 10:00PM for more friendly action.
Big Maxime Chanot stepped up in his usual starting spot for Luxembourg vs Lithuania, playing the full 90 minutes and leading Luxembourg to an important 2-0 victory and the top of their Euro Qualifying Group for the time being. Chanot laced up for a full 90 minutes with Luxembourg once again vs. Ukraine.
Sean Johnson earned a first start and first clean sheet under Gregg Berhalter in front of friends and family in Central Florida when the USMNT’s took a 1-0 friendly result over Ecuador in Orlando. Johnson, however, was not the only player from the club to appear in the game. Fellow Florida Boy in Blue, Jonathan Lewis, earned in for Paul Arriola in the 77’ minute, earning his third cap so far the USMNT.
That’s three straight wins under Berhalter, with the search for a fourth coming in Houston at the BBVA Compass Stadium tomorrow evening at 7:55PM vs. Chile.
NYCFC’s newest DP Alexandru Mitriță started and played the first 45 for a dangerous attacking Romania side, while Anton Tinnerholm made the subs bench in Sweden’s 2-1 victory on Matchday 1 of UEFA EURO Qualifiers.
Ismael Tajouri-Shradi started and played 54 minutes for Libya, who dropped a 2-1 heart-breaker to the Bafana Bafana in African Cup of Nations Qualifying.
Over with the youth national teams, Benfica loanee Keaton Parks started and played well for the U-23’s in two matches vs. Egypt & the Netherlands respectively in Spain. Fellow midfielder Juan Pablo Torres earned the start for the U-20s in their preparations for the World Cup, defeating Japan this morning 2-1. Next stop: Poland in May!
Keep it locked to NYCFC.com and our social media channels as the international break closes out…
