Sounders resume training with full assortment of internationals

TUKWILA, Wash. — Barring a somewhat significant surprise, all four of the presumed Seattle Sounders starters who were away for international duty should be available to play a full complement of minutes on Saturday against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

When asked if there were any concerns after seeing Gustav Svensson, Nicolas Lodeiro, Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan train for the first time in nearly two weeks, Brian Schmetzer said “none whatsoever.”

“You guys saw all the minutes they played,” he continued. “Nico had the heaviest load and he actually enjoys working hard, so that’s no shock. Cristian had a tough outing; that was a hard game, good game to watch, good game for him to experience against top-notch players. The rest of the guys are good.”

The Sounder who may have faced the biggest test was Roldan, who started in the midfield against Chile. He acknowledged that the United States struggled with their build-up play, but was also proud of the overall performance.

“We were able to measure ourselves against top talent,” he said. “We got a good result, but guys still aren’t happy with that tie against Chile. We want to continue to progress. But we were playing out of the back — even with their press we stuck to our philosophy. Those are the things we want to change how the way the world looks at us.”