Fresh off helping to deliver a Leagues Cup title to the Seattle Sounders, Cristian Roldan has been called into the United States national team for a pair of upcoming friendlies against South Korea and Japan.
Roldan has been arguably the top defensive midfielder in MLS this season. On a roster that was already more than half MLS players, Roldan’s snub had been noted by plenty of soccer pundits. With the World Cup just nine months away, every training camp is considered important for earning a spot.
But USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino finally saw the error of his ways, likely after watching Roldan shut down Leo Messi and the rest of the Miami attack on Sunday.
Tim Ostlund-Foss
This will mark Roldan’s first national team camp since the 2023 Gold Cup, in which the USMNT lost in the semifinals to Panama. That was the USMNT’s worst Gold Cup performance since 2000, when they failed to get out of the quarterfinals. Roldan played in five matches and started two at that tournament.
In the two years since, Roldan has moved from the wing to defensive midfield, where he has quickly established as possibly the most complete 6 in all of North America.
The only downside is that Roldan has been among the Sounders’ most heavily used players this year and he was surely looking forward to getting the five days off that head coach Brian Schmetzer promised the team. Roldan also was apparently nursing an injury to his “buttocks” that prompted Schmetzer to remove him earlier than expected from the LA Galaxy game on Wednesday. Still, Roldan managed to play all 90 minutes on Sunday and has gotten at least Monday and Tuesday off.
Instead of an extended break, Roldan will be available to Pochettino for a friendlies against South Korea on Saturday in Harrison, N.J. and against Japan on Sept. 9 in Columbus, Ohio.
The Sounders’ next match is on Sept. 13 at home against the LA Galaxy, meaning Roldan should not miss any matches as a result of the call-up.
