HARRISON, N.J. (October 2, 2016) – New York Red Bulls midfielder Sacha Kljestan has been called into camp with the U.S. Men’s National Team for a pair of October friendlies ahead of November World Cup Qualifying matches, U.S. Soccer announced today.
Kljestan gets the call on the heels of two strong WCQ performances in September, with a goal and two assists against St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the game-winning goal against Trinidad & Tobago to seal a spot in the hexagonal phase of qualifying, which begins with a match against Mexico on November 11 in Columbus, Ohio.
Kljestan continued his impressive MLS campaign on Saturday night, scoring a goal and getting another game-winning assist as New York defeated Philadelphia, 3-2, to move into first place in the Eastern Conference with two games remaining. New York also stretched the unbeaten run to 18 games across all competitions, including 14 in MLS. Kljestan has six goals on the year, tied for second-most on the team, and leads the league with 17 assists, also a single-season franchise record.
The September call up was the first for the Huntington Beach, California native since March of 2014. In all, Kljestan has 48 caps for the United States and has scored six goals. Kljestan has represented the United States at the 2009 Confederations Cup and made the preliminary 2010 World Cup roster. He scored a hat trick in his first senior appearance, a 3-2 win over Sweden in January of 2009, in front of a hometown crowd in Carson, California.
The United States will play a pair of tune-up matches next week, traveling to Cuba to face the Cuban National Team on October 7 before hosting New Zealand on October 11 at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. The match against Cuba will be the first time the teams face each other since 1947.
The Red Bulls are off next weekend for the FIFA break, and return to action on Sunday, October 16 for the home finale against Columbus Crew SC. New York then heads to Philadelphia to close out the regular season on October 23.
