Cristian Roldan is with the USMNT for Gold Cup Final

Seattle Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan is fresh off probably his best match ever in Rave Green this week, but he missed Wednesday’s training session to be honored for a different role he recently played. After getting his first call-up and appearance for the US national team, he was sent back to Seattle for the tournament’s knockout stage. But he’s now joined back up with the USMNT for Wednesday night’s Gold Cup final in a non-playing role, as US Soccer wanted to honor his commitment to the team by letting him participate in the Final festivities.

Head coach Brian Schmetzer addressed Roldan’s absence with reporters after Wednesday’s session:

“We were requested by US Soccer to have Cristian come back and take part in the final, because he was part of that first group. To me, it was 6 to a half-dozen the other, so I just asked Cristian. He was eager to go and be part of the team, he thought it was an honor for him to be called in. So he's down in San Francisco, he'll be part of the team meal, part of the group, and hopefully he can come back as a Gold Cup winner as well.”

The Sounders head to Los Angeles on Friday afternoon, so it’s likely (but unconfirmed) that Roldan (and his club teammates Jordan Morris and Clint Dempsey) return to Seattle before that trip.