You knew the day would come. It was just a matter of when.
Red Bulls defender Matt Miazga finally got the phone call he had been waiting for. On Monday, he will travel for his first training camp with the United States national team and he is hopeful of earning his first cap shortly after that when the Americans begin play in the fourth round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying Nov. 13 against St. Vincent and the Grenadines in St. Louis.
The Americans also play a qualifier at Trinidad and Tobago on Nov. 17, but that roster has yet to be announced.
“I’m happy to be recognized to move up to the full team, for the opportunity to play with them,” Miazga said. “It’s an exciting moment so I’m looking forward to it, but my main focus is the D.C. game first. Get that taken care of and get ready for the national team.
“It’s a good opportunity in front of me. I’m going to give it my all, try and do what (national team coach) Jurgen (Klinsmann) asked me to do on the field, get adjusted to their system of play. My first main focus is obviously D.C. We’re really focused as a team getting ready and prepared, doing a lot of video. I can’t wait for that game first, then get ready for the national team.”
So following Sunday’s second leg of the Eastern Conference semifinals against D.C. United at Red Bull Arena, Miazga will join the other 22 U.S. players as the quest to earn a place in the 2018 World Cup in Russia continues.
“Matt’s had a great year,” Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch said. “He’s continued to establish himself. It’s nice to see him take the steps, too, to go through the 20s and 23s and establish himself in MLS and now really earn the opportunity to go with the national team.
“The timing’s not great with the playoffs and everything. This FIFA window and how it fits within our league playoffs isn’t perfect, but I expect him to go in there, do well, hopefully play, and then come back more confident, more ready than ever and help us continue to make a push.”
Upon hearing the news, Miazga’s teammates couldn’t have been happier for him.
“It’s fantastic news,” Red Bulls captain Dax McCarty said. “It’s well deserved for a very good season. He’s a kid that’s got a bright future ahead of him so we’re all very happy for him. We’re happy that Red Bull is represented in the national team in this next round of games.”
Added goalkeeper Luis Robles: “Congratulations to Matt. It’s a long time coming. Everyone saw the writing on the wall. He’s had a great season and been huge for us. He stepped into a position that for the most part was thought from the beginning was going to be Ronald Zubar’s. He dealt with some injuries, so with Matt to come in with the inexperience, just the willingness to learn, the willingness to be brave, is huge for us. For him to get called up is not only an honor, but he deserves it.”
There was some debate about whether Miazga would opt to play for Poland instead. He had been in contact with both federations, but in the end there was only one choice.
“This has been going on for the past year and a half, almost two years, where I’ve been in contact with both federations,” Miazga said. “Obviously I’ve been playing with the U.S. more. That’s because I’ve been playing here in MLS and I’m here playing with Americans. That’s the case in that situation, but I always felt a little bit more American.
“I grew up here, I was born here. I always envisioned and dreamt of playing for the full team for the USA, and now that I have an opportunity to do that I’m looking forward to it and I wanted to take the chance.
“My parents, obviously, they’re going to support me whatever I do, whatever I pick. They put no pressure on me. In the press it says there’s a lot of pressure and a lot of arguments, but there really wasn’t. Obviously I have some uncles saying Poland as jokes and some uncles saying U.S., but it was all just talk. I’m going with the full team on Monday and I’m excited.”
Miazga’s rise has been a whirlwind. A member of the Red Bulls Academy since 2009, he played at the U-14, U-16 and U-18 levels before signing as a Homegrown Player in 2013. He appeared in just one game that year and seven last season, but when the Red Bulls went out and signed Zubar in the offseason to pair with Damien Perrinelle at center back, it appeared Miazga was headed for another year of part-time duty.
But Zubar was injured in the first game of the season and it took several months for him to return. In that time Mizaga paired with Perrinelle and became arguably the best center back tandem in the league. By the time Zubar was ready to play, Miazga had become a fixture on the back line.
“More than anything it’s just his ability to keep himself focused and not get too far ahead of himself or believe the hype or start to think that he’s ahead of where he’s at,” Marsch said. “This has been a continual message with him about making sure he stays focused and concentrated on what’s going to help him develop, and he’s become mature.
“I would say that when I first met him he wasn’t quite as mature, but in the past 10 months he’s grown a lot. He’s established himself within his team as a man. He’s got a long way to go, but it’s been good to see. Personally, it’s been fun to watch him grow as a person and a player and to play a part in that. That part’s been fun.”
Miazga has started 24 of 26 games and collected one goal and one assist. But it’s his ability to win headers, match the physicality of some of the league’s top forwards, and then shut them down, that has caught the interest of several European teams.
“I don’t know that I remember seeing a center back as hyped up as he’s been,” Marsch said. “That’s because everybody sees the potential, as do we. That’s what’s important, especially as a center back, that you don’t get ahead of yourself because forwards can often hide in games and make mistakes and people don’t notice, but center backs, it’s not as easy to do that.
“You have to be on top of your game, and any one mistake can cost your team. That can carry with you, not for just a year or two, but a career, so his ability to stay concentrated and focused will be important.”
Miazga has shown that maturity through his time with the Under-20 team at the U-20 World Cup, and again with the Under-23 team during qualifying play for the 2016 Olympic Games.
“Every camp I play I feel more and more confident as a player, especially moving up to the U-23’s, playing older age groups,” Miazga said. “(I’m) playing pretty well, I felt confident. I’m always working hard on the pitch to try and make the next level or the next jump in everything I do to challenge myself. I’m happy the call-up came along.”
The Under-20 team finished second in Group A with a 2-1 record, then defeated Colombia, 1-0, in the Round of 16 before being eliminated by eventual-champion Serbia in the quarterfinals after nine rounds of penalty kicks following a scoreless tie.
“Those kind of games are just do-or-die. Everyone’s fighting for their lives, for their country,” Miazga said. “I expect that with the full team. Every time a call-up has happened I’ve been going all out to fight for positions and represent the country the best, so I’m looking forward to it. I’m excited for the challenge and I’m ready to give it my all.”
The Under-23 team still has to win a home-and-home playoff series against Colombia in March to qualify for the Olympics, but Miazga says coach Andreas Herzog stresses the importance of where they are in their careers.
“He always talks to the U-23’s as we’re the next generation, the next crop of players to move up to the full team, so we always have to be on our ‘A’ game and playing the best to our abilities,” Miazga said. “He says there’s always changes, always opportunities. Jurgen’s always watching the younger players to see which ones are ready to make the jump.”
Marsch realizes the time frame has been fast, but there’s no denying Miazga has proven he’s a player to build around.
“Obviously the time frame’s been shorter because he’s established himself in MLS fairly quickly, but you would also have to go back in time and talk about how he’s established himself through the academy, how he started with the (United States) U-18s and then came into the 20s,” Marsch said. “So there’s been a longer process in place, but ultimately part of some of these FIFA dates is to start to integrate younger players and see how they fit into the new cycle.
“It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that in three years Matt with be a 23-year-old. There’s a lot of 23 year olds that play in the World Cup and that are established pros, and often those are some of the best players in the world and in a World Cup, so the quicker that they can get Matt into the program and start the process the better. It will be a good opportunity for him.”
Miazga says he benefitted from the experience teammates McCarty and Sacha Kljestan had with the national team.
“Here and there in the locker room and on away trips, there’s guys like Sacha and Dax who’ve been there,” he said. “I ask questions of what it’s like and they tell me their experiences when they were with the full team, so little things like that they’ve told me. If I have any questions I know I can go to those guys because they’ve been in my shoes before, and go from there.
“I was always just taking it day by day and seeing what happens. I’ve been talking to both federations. This U.S. opportunity presented itself and I took the challenge and took this opportunity and I’m ready to make the step.”
