Red Bulls International Recap: Six RBNY players called up for international duty
Cahill, Castano, Miazga, Miller, Oyongo, Sekagya called up to national teams
The New York Red Bulls enjoyed a deserved week off from MLS Cup competition last week while some were called up to their respective national teams. Six Red Bulls in total accepted call-ups for five different nations.
All will return and be available for selection, with the exception of Roy Miller due to red card suspension, for this Sunday’s Eastern Conference Finals at Red Bull Arena versus New England Revolution.
Here’s what’s going on with the Red Bulls representing their countries around the world.
Tim Cahill – Australia
Socceroos star Tim Cahill has joined the Australian national team in Japan for their final tune up before the 2015 Asian Cup in January. The friendly will be held Tuesday, November 18 at Nagai Stadium in Japan. Cahill is Australia’s all-time leading goal scorer with 35 goals and is a nominee for the FIFA Puskas Award, an award given to the highest vote recipient for best goal of the year.
Santiago Castano and Matt Miazga – United States U-20
The Red Bulls’ 19-year-old pair were again called up to the U.S. U-20 National Team, this time for the Marbella Tournament in Spain. The tournament is a total of three games and only one match remains to be played. Their first match on Wednesday, November 12 was a 4-3 victory against the Russian U-21 team. Matt Miazga played the full 90 minutes, even drawing a penalty-kick in the 77th minute which led to the third American goal. Santiago Castano was on the bench and did not play.
Their second game on Saturday, November 15 resulted in a 1-0 win against the Republic of Ireland U-21 team. Miazga started again along with Castano who completed the shutout. Their third and final match will be against the Canada U-20 team on Tuesday, November 18.
Roy Miller – Costa Rica
Roy Miller accepted a call-up from Costa Rica who were set to play Uruguay in a rematch of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Group Stage match that resulted in a surprise Costa Rican victory. The match, held in Montevideo, Uruguay was Costa Rica’s final scheduled match of 2014. Miller was an unused substitute in the 3-3 draw. This concludes a successful year for Los Ticos and Miller, who was a part of the Costa Rican World Cup squad that advanced as far as the Quarterfinals.
Ambroise Oyongo – Cameroon
With a spot in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) on the line, Cameroon called upon Ambroise Oyongo’s services to clinch a spot in the January tournament. Saturday’s 1-0 victory against the Democratic Republic of Congo was enough to put them through to the AFCON tournament, with Oyongo starting and playing the entire match. Cameroon’s final qualifier before the AFCON tournament is Wednesday, November 19 vs. Ivory Coast.
Ibrahim Sekagya – Uganda
After announcing his retirement from international play in 2012, it came as a surprise when former Uganda captain Ibrahim Sekagya received a call-up for his country’s must-win African Cup of Nations match. But the 33-year-old defender accepted his country’s summoning and joined the team. Despite training with the squad, he was not named to the team’s 18-man roster for their victorious AFCON qualifier against Ghana. Sekagya has made 26 appearances with the Uganda national team and is considered to be one of their most successful players in his home country.
