Six NYCFC players will represent their nations during this international break, including a CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying showdown which will pit Miguel Camargo against Rodney Wallace and Ronald Matarrita.
Elsewhere, Yangel Herrera aims to captain his Venezuela squad to the U-20 FIFA World Cup final.
Miguel Camargo - Panama
Competition: CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying
Match: June 8th, 10:00 PM ET v. Costa Rica (beIn Sports)
What’s at stake: Panama currently sit in third place in the final round of the CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying tournament, affectionately dubbed “The Hex.” Los Catrachos occupy the lowest spot that automatically qualifies for the 2018 World Cup, and a loss puts them in danger of sliding down to fourth place, where they’d need to win a playoff against the fifth-placed team in Asian Confederation qualifying to advance to Russia. A win against Costa Rica would propel Panama up to second place, putting them in prime position to qualify for their first-ever FIFA World Cup appearance.
Rodney Wallace and Ronald Matarrita - Costa Rica
Competition: CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying
Match: June 8th, 10:00 PM ET v. Panama (beIN Sports)
What’s at stake: NYCFC teammates will turn bitter rivals in the hunt for a berth in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, as Rodney and Mata go head-to-head with Miguel Camargo and the rest of a talented Panamanian squad. The pressure to win is mounting for both of these nations, as a loss could see the United States leapfrog both of them, bumping one out of an automatic qualification spot. A Costa Rica loss would put them in danger of failing to qualify for their second-straight World Cup. Los Ticos are all too familiar with the dangers of an inter-confederation playoff, as they lost to Uruguay 2-1 in 2010, when a trip to South Africa was on the line.
Maxime Chanot – Luxembourg
Competition: UEFA World Cup Qualifying
Match: June 9th, 2:45 PM ET v. Netherlands
What’s at stake: Maxime Chanot and Luxembourg find themselves stranded at the bottom of the Group A table in UEFA World Cup Qualifying and in dire need of some points. They’re currently six points behind the Netherlands, who sit in fourth place and are also in danger of not making it out of the group stage.
Yangel Herrera - Venezuela U-20
Competition: FIFA U-20 World Cup
Match: June 8th, 4:00 AM ET v. Uruguay U-20 (Fox Sports 1)
What’s at stake: Yangel Herrera has the opportunity to captain his young Venezuelan side to the FIFA U-20 World Cup final early Thursday morning. After outlasting the United States in a physical battle that wasn’t decided until late in extra time, Venezuela is just 180 minutes away from capping an unlikely run with some very prestigious silverware.
Kwame Awuah - Canada
Competition: Friendly
Match: June 13th, 7:30 PM ET v. Curaçao
What’s at stake: Just a couple of weeks after making his NYCFC debut, Kwame Awuah looks set to continue his rise to prominence and earn his first cap with the Canadian senior national team. Just named to Canada's 40-man provisional Gold Cup roster for this summer, a good performance could put him squarely into the future plans of head coach Octavio Zambrano, and maybe even onto the final 23-man roster for Les Rouges.
