BRADENTON, Fla. — Following his preseason debut with FC Cincinnati on Wednesday night, midfielder Allan Cruz left the club to join the Costa Rican National Team ahead of Saturday afternoon’s friendly against the U.S. Men’s National Team in San Jose, Calif.
If Cruz plays, it’ll be his seventh appearance for Los Ticos and first as a member of FC Cincinnati.
“It’s great for him,” FCC Head Coach Alan Koch said. “He’s a young player. A young player like him getting all the call ups that he’s had from the national team and doing well for them, too, is huge. He’s a kid who’s got a major upside. We’re hoping to get a lot out of him, but I’m sure the national team is too.
The friendly kicks off at 3:30 p.m. Before that, the Orange & Blue play the Colorado Rapids in the club’s second preseason friendly, with kickoff scheduled for 10:30 a.m.
Koch said he’s looking forward to watching the international friendly after coaching a club one in the same day.
“I’m hoping Allan gets to play for Costa Rica against the U.S. because I’d like to watch that game,” Koch added. “I’ll be cheering for the U.S., but I’ll be cheering for Allan too at the same time. I don’t know how that’s going to work out.”
Cruz isn’t the only FC Cincinnati player who could’ve potentially played in the friendly. Center back Kendall Waston has become a Tico regular and joined the team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. For the U.S., left back Greg Garza had an abbreviated stay in USMNT January camp due to suffering a minor injury near the frontend of camp. Garza opted to leave U.S. camp to join FC Cincinnati early for its first preseason.
Koch said FCC rostering national team players is a special opportunity that’s not taken for granted. Earlier this year, Nazmi Albadawi joined Palestine for the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
“For the growth of our club, it’s [special] to play for Costa Rica, who’s a very, very good footballing nation,” Koch said of Cruz and Waston. “It’s obviously very, very special for us to have guys like that playing for their teams. …As we grow as a club, I’m sure we’re going to have players that are going to play for more and more of the bigger nations.”
