The Pitch: MLS Players Suit Up for September International Duty

MLS Communications

80 MLS players will take to the senior international stage this month across several of global soccer’s most prestigious competitions, including 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in South America and Asia, 2024/25 UEFA Nations League Group Stage matches in Europe, and 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. MLS players will represent over 35 different countries from all six FIFA confederations, which includes first-time call-ups for FC Dallas’ Maarten Paes with Indonesia and the New England Revolution’s Esmir Bajraktarević with Bosnia & Herzegovina, among others.

World Cup qualifiers in South America will see several MLS players go head-to-head as Luis Suárez (Inter Miami CF), Cristian Olivera (LAFC), and Facundo Torres (Orlando City SC) join Uruguay for matches against Diego Gómez (Inter Miami CF), Carlos Coronel (New York Red Bulls), and Andrés Cubas (Vancouver Whitecaps FC) of Paraguay on Sept. 6 and Dani Pereira (Austin FC) and David Martínez (LAFC) of Venezuela on Sept. 10. For Suárez, Friday’s match against Paraguay will be the final of his storied international career, as the Uruguayan striker announced his retirement from international soccer on Monday. Suárez is Uruguay’s all-time leading scorer with 69 goals in 142 appearances for his native country.

Minnesota United FC is the most represented MLS club during this international window with seven players called up for action, including Canadian duo Dayne St. Clair and Tani Oluwaseyi as well as Finnish duo Teemu Pukki and Robin Lod. The Columbus Crew, LAFC, and Vancouver Whitecaps FC are the second-most represented clubs with five players each from a combined 14 different countries.

A full list of senior roster MLS players called up for international duty for this month’s FIFA International Window can be found **here**.

Columbus Crew forward Cucho Hernández will return to the Colombian Men’s National Team after leading his club to the Leagues Cup 2024 title and being named the tournament’s best player with four goals and three assists across five games. The 25-year-old joins the 2024 Copa América finalists as one of eight MLS players to produce double-digit figures in goals (13) and assists (10) so far this season, with the dynamic Hernández accomplishing the feat through only 20 games.

Hernández earned his senior national team debut while playing in Europe in 2018, but it’s been during his time in MLS that he has started to earn more recognition at the international level with three appearances since arriving in Columbus. He has developed into a player built for the big moments with three goals and an assist across 2023 MLS Cup presented by Audi and the Leagues Cup 2024 Final, and Colombia will need that ahead of matches against Peru and Argentina.

Colombia is third in the South American World Cup Qualifiers through six games played and remains the only unbeaten team with a 3-0-3 record. Hernández could play a part in Colombia’s match against Argentina, particularly as they look to take down the reigning World Cup and Copa América champion at home for the first time since 2007.

The Portland Timbers unveiled their Portland Chainsaw Massacre Tifo during Saturday's match against Seattle. Instagram
RSL Fans threw teddy bears on the field in support of Kick Childhood Cancer. All donations will go to kids battling cancer. Instagram
FC Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan threw the first pitch for the Cincinnati Reds. Twitter

Gauld’s Return to Scotland was 10 Years in the Making

Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Ryan Gauld has become a club legend in just three-and-a-half seasons after arriving in July of 2021. With 37 helpers across 103 MLS regular season matches, Gauld is the club’s all-time leader in assists during its MLS era and has also helped the team secure two Canadian Championships. Through 25 games played in 2024, Gauld is just five goal contributions away from eclipsing his career-best 23 (11 goals, 12 assists) set last season.

The legacy Gauld has built in Vancouver has culminated in his first call-up to the Scottish Men’s National Team in 10 years. Dubbed “The Scottish Messi” during the early years of his career, Gauld has come to fulfill the promise he showed at a young age during his time in MLS after developing overseas in Portugal and Scotland. The 28-year-old playmaker will look to bring that talent to the international level during this month’s UEFA Nations League matches against Poland (Sept. 5) and Portugal (Sept. 8).

Gauld will be joined by fellow MLS star Lewis Morgan of the New York Red Bulls, who returns to the national team after making the final roster for the 2024 UEFA European Championship this past summer. With both players breaking onto the international stage in the prime of their careers, Gauld and Morgan have an opportunity to become key pieces of Scotland’s Nations League run and qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

MLS Stars Breaking onto the International Stage

While many MLS stars are returning to camp with their national teams, there are a handful of breakout players from this season that are earning their first call-ups to their respective national teams as they look to build their profile at the international level.

Maarten Paes (FC Dallas, Indonesia) – After earning a 2024 MLS All-Star honor and his Indonesian citizenship earlier this year, Paes officially received his first call-up to the Indonesia Men’s National Team for their World Cup qualifying matches against Saudi Arabia (Sept. 5) and Australia (Sept. 10). Having represented the Netherlands at youth level, Paes decided to represent Indonesia at senior level to honor his late grandmother, who was born in Kediri, East Java, when it was called the Dutch East Indie.
Esmir Bajraktarević (New England Revolution, Bosnia & Herzegovina) – After making his debut for the U.S. Men’s National Team in January in a friendly against Slovenia, Bajraktarević has been called up to represent Bosnia & Herzegovina in their upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against the Netherlands (Sept. 7) and Hungary (Sept. 10). This window will play into a larger decision needed to be made by the 19-year-old Homegrown midfielder as to which nation he represents at the international level.
Mohamed Farsi (Columbus Crew, Algeria) – Another product of the MLS NEXT Pro to MLS pipeline, Farsi has been a huge piece of the Crew’s success over the last three seasons. He was a member of the Crew 2 side that won the inaugural MLS NEXT Pro Cup in 2022 and has now lifted both MLS Cup and Leagues Cup with the Crew’s first team. Farsi could become the latest MLS NEXT Pro alumni to debut for their national team as well this month as he joins Algeria for their first set of Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Equatorial Guinea (Sept. 5) and Liberia (Sept. 10) over the next week.

To assist in your coverage of the 2024 MLS season, the MLS Communications staff has provided the following media resources, all of which are available on MLSsoccer.com/Media-Resources.