Plenty of MLS players are in action with their national teams this week in World Cup qualifying and friendly matches. Here’s a rundown of how they’re performing (this post will be updated as matches are played):
Belgium – 1-1 at Netherlands, 8-1 vs. Estonia
Montreal Impact center back Laurent Ciman went the full 90 for Belgium in their 1-1 friendly draw at the Netherlands on Wednesday, starting alongside Vincent Kompany as the Red Devils limited the hosts to a penalty-kick goal at Amsterdam ArenA. Ciman had an eventful match, nearly causing an early goal when he didn’t put quite enough power on a headed pass to goalkeeper Thibault Courtouis and having a goal disallowed for offside late in the second half.
Belgium then trounced Estonia 8-1 in a World Cup qualifier on Sunday, with Ciman logging another complete outing. Roberto Martinez’s side have raced out to a perfect 4-0-0 start in qualifying, outscoring their Group H opponents 21-1 in their four contests to date.
Cameroon – 1-1 vs. Zambia
Montreal Impact fullback Ambroise Oyongo started and played 90 minutes for Cameroon as Les Lions Indomptables could only manage a 1-1 home draw with Zambia in Limbe on Saturday. New York Red Bulls striker Anatole Abang, currently on loan to Danish club Hobro IK, came on at halftime for Cameroon, who sit in second place in CAF qualifying Group B with two points, well back of early pacesetters Nigeria, who have six points from their first two games.
Canada – 0-2 at Korea Republic
Five MLS players saw action and three went the full 90 as Canada dropped a friendly at South Korea on Friday. Find MLSsoccer.com’s full recap here.
Costa Rica – 2-0 at Trinidad and Tobago, 4-0 vs. US
Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Christian Bolaños and New York City FC defender Ronald Matarrita scored for Costa Rica, who started the Hex with a valuable road win at Trinidad and Tobago. All four MLS players on the squad saw action, as Vancouver defender Kendall Waston joined Bolaños and Matarrita in playing the full 90, while Montreal Impact attacker Johan Venegas came on as a sub in the 78th minute.
On Tuesday Los Ticosthrashed the United States 4-0 at Estadio Nacional in San Jose, with Bolaños and Venegas finding the net and Waston and Matarrita also playing important roles. The win extends Costa Rica's undefeated home qualifying record against the US to 9-0-1 all-time, and puts them in first place after the first two games of the Hex.
Ecuador – 1-2 at Uruguay, 3-0 vs. Venezuela
FC Dallas midfielder Carlos Gruezo did not see action as Ecuador fell 2-1 at Uruguay on Thursday, and was an unused substitute as La Tri defeated Venezuela at home on Tuesday to climb into third place in CONMEBOL qualifying.
Iraq – 0-0 at Jordan, 0-2 at United Arab Emirates
Columbus Crew SC midfielder Justin Meram started for Iraq in a friendly against Jordan and played 65 minutes before being subbed out. On Tuesday he went the full 90 as Iraq produced a brave performance at UAE only to fall 2-0 in an Asian qualifier.
Ghana – 0-2 at Egypt
Columbus Crew SC fullback Harrison Afful logged a full 90 minutes for Ghana as the Black Stars fell 2-0 to Egypt in the Mediterranean resort town of Borg El Arab on Sunday, with Mohamed Salah and Abdallah Saied scoring for the hosts. The loss puts Ghana in early trouble in Group E of CAF's third and final round of qualifying for Russia 2018, as they sit in third place in the group with just one point from their first two games. Only the first-place finisher will advance to the World Cup.
Honduras – 0-1 vs. Panama, 3-1 vs. Trinidad and Tobago
Honduras started their Hex campaign on the wrong foot, falling 1-0 at home to a Panama side they figure to be battling for one of the confederation’s final World Cup spots. FC Dallas defender Maynor Figueroa went the full 90 for Los Catrachos, while Houston’s Boniek Garcia came off the bench to play the final 30 minutes. Sporting KC midfielder Roger Espinoza did not see action.
Los Catrachos would rebound with an assured home victory over Trinidad & Tobago on Tuesday. Figueroa and Espinoza played all 90 minutes, while Boniek notched two assists before being replaced by Alfredo Mejia in the final minutes.
Ireland – 1-0 at Austria
Colorado Rapids forward Kevin Doyle did not play as Ireland picked up a huge 1-0 win at Austria in UEFA World Cup qualifying. James McClean scored the game’s lone goal in the 48th minute to move the Irish to 3-0-1 in qualifying, good for first place in Group D.
Lithuania – 0-4 at Slovakia
Portland Timbers defender Vytautas "Vytas" Andriuskevicius played the full 90 as Lithuania suffered a heavy defeat to Slovakia on Friday in UEFA World Cup qualifying. Among the scorers for the hosts was former New York City FC striker Adam Nemec, who opened the scoring in the 12th minute. The result leaves Lithuania in fourth place in their qualifying group, on half the points of group leaders England four games in.
Mexico – 2-1 at US, 0-0 at Panama
LA Galaxy attacker Giovani dos Santos started and played all 90 minutes for Mexico as they ended their run of futility in Columbus with a 2-1 win against the US. Former Real Salt Lake defender Carlos Salcedo also saw significant action, coming on in the 28th minute for the injured Andres Guardado before earning a second yellow card and getting ejected in the 93rd minute. MLSSoccer.com’s full recap of the US-Mexico contest can be found here.
El Tri ground out a road point in Panama on Tuesday via a goalless draw at rain-soaked Estadio Rommel Fernandez. Dos Santos started again before making way for Hirving "Chucky" Lozano, and Mexico take four points from two road qualifiers to start the Hex.
New Zealand – 2-0 vs. New Caledonia, 0-0 at New Caledonia
San Jose Earthquakes defender Kip Colvey did not play as New Zealand won beat New Caledonia 2-0 at home in an OFC Stage Three World Cup qualifier. Colvey did see action in a nil-nil draw when the two sides met again in Kone on Monday. The All-Whites move on to a two-legged tie against Fiji in March; the winner of the three-team group advances to the Oceania final in August and September.
Panama – 1-0 at Honduras, 0-0 vs. Mexico
Four members of Panama’s MLS contingent started in their huge 1-0 win at Honduras, with Vancouver’s Blas Perez and San Jose’s Alberto Quintero going the full 90, Quakes midfielder Anibal Godoy subbing off in the 54th minute and Toronto’s Armando Cooper starting and leaving in the 90th minute. Fidel Escobar had the lone goal for Los Canaleros.
Panama were held to a scoreless draw by Mexico on Tuesday; Perez, Quintero, Godoy, Seattle Sounders defender Roman Torres and NYCFC forward (and recently-recruited US convert) Tony Taylor all saw action on a waterlogged pitch at Estadio Rommel Fernandez.
Paraguay – 1-4 vs. Peru, 0-1 at Bolivia
Nelson Valdez, a late addition to the Paraguay squad, did not play in Paraguay’s 4-1 home loss to Peru on Thursday. But the Seattle Sounders forward did get the start at Bolivia on Tuesday, where the visitors fell 1-0 to slip further back in the CONMEBOL pack.
Trinidad and Tobago – 0-2 vs. Costa Rica, 1-3 at Honduras
Four MLS-based Trinidad and Tobago players saw action on Friday, but it wasn’t enough as the Soca Warriors fell 2-0 to Costa Rica in Port of Spain. Seattle Sounders wide player Joevin Jones and FC Dallas defender Aubrey David went the full 90, San Jose Earthquakes attacker Cordell Cato started and went 75 minutes and Atlanta United FC striker Kenwyne Jones started and played 79 minutes.
David, Cato and both Joneses started again in Tuesday's loss at Honduras, while former Vancouver Whitecap Carlyle Mitchell scored the Soca Warriors' only goal.
Uganda – 1-0 vs. Republic of the Congo
Colorado Rapids midfielder Micheal Azira came off the bench and helped Uganda close out a 1-0 home win against Republic of the Congo on Saturday. The result temporarily moved the Cranes into first place in the African World Cup qualifying group, though Egypt jumped ahead of them with their 2-0 home win over Ghana on Sunday.
Uruguay – 2-1 vs. Ecuador, 1-3 at Chile
Nicolas Lodeiro did not play as Uruguay topped Ecuador 2-1 in Montevideo on Thursday. Lodeiro came off the bench in relief of Alvaro Gonzalez and earned a late yellow card as La Celeste lost at Chile on Tuesday, but they remain in second place in the CONMEBOL qualifying standings.
United States – 1-2 vs. Mexico, 0-4 at Costa Rica
Five of the 10 MLS players on the US roster saw action in Friday’s loss to Mexico, with all five starting and three playing all 90 minutes. Toronto’s Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore and Colorado’s Jermaine Jones went the duration, with Altidore earning an assist on Bobby Wood’s goal. Rapids ‘keeper Tim Howard left the match in the first half due to injury and Sporting KC defender Matt Besler was subbed off in the 81st. Steve Birnbaum, Alejandro Bedoya, Graham Zusi, Sacha Kljestan and Alan Gordon did not play. MLSoccer.com’s full recap of the US-Mexico contest can be found here.
Howard aside, Jurgen Klinsmann started much the same roster at Costa Rica on Tuesday as the Yanks were hammered at Estadio Nacional. Kljestan and Zusi came on a second-half substitutes, while Bedoya did not dress due to a hamstring issue.
