Raúl Ruidíaz called into Peru’s World Cup qualifiers

Raúl Ruidíaz has been called back into the Peru national team ahead of a trio of World Cup qualifiers from Sept. 2-9. When asked if Ruidíaz would be forced to miss any Seattle Sounders games due to the call-up, head coach Brian Schmetzer said their expectation was that his striker would be with the team through the Aug. 29 match against the Portland Timbers. Ruidíaz’s availability for the Sept. 11 match against Minnesota United will likely depend on how quickly he’s able to get back to Seattle after the Brazil match on Sept. 9.

Ruidíaz’s place with the national team has been in flux recently, and he wasn’t called into the Copa America squad, but his play with the Seattle Sounders made it almost impossible to leave him out. As productive as Ruidíaz has been with the Sounders, he’s failed to replicate that with Peru. Ruidíaz has just four international goals in 47 appearances and has not scored since 2018 in a friendly against Iceland.