After over a spending the last couple of months with the U.S. Men’s National Team for FIFA World Cup 2026™, Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan returns home to Seattle and the Sounders as the team gears up for the latter half of the MLS Regular Season.
“It feels refreshing to be back,” said Roldan. “To be honest, you're on the road for 40 days. It's really hard on yourself. It's really hard on my family to be away for that long. Just being home here is really nice.”
The midfielder left the tournament disappointed, relaying that “it didn’t go as well as [he] would’ve hoped” for himself. Aside from the team getting knocked out in the Round of 16 to Belgium on July 6, Roldan suffered a quad strain in the lead-up to the Türkiye group stage match. And while he attempted to make a quick recovery for the knockout rounds, the long-time Sounder found himself re-aggravating it once again.
“Obviously getting injured, not being able to feature in a game…you know, I felt part of the team, and I had a great experience altogether. Winning games with the team, doing something remarkable in the group stage. But for me, as a professional, yeah, a little frustrating,” said Roldan.
Still, he found silver linings in the hardships, noting that he “can take a lot out of the experience.”
“I understand what it means to play in a big tournament and what you need in that type of pressure environment, and also being able to reflect and help the group in different ways when you're injured,” said Roldan.
Bring the Noise
Enjoy the Rave Pack —a three-match offering filled with high-energy, high-stakes matches at Lumen Field. Open with our August 19 battle against Austin FC, and finish with a Saturday-night showdown vs. Eastern Conference foe CF Montrêal.
Similar to what he experienced at the FIFA Club World Cup 2025™, when the Sounders faced the likes of PSG, Atlético Madrid and Botafogo, Roldan and the USMNT spent the summer testing themselves against some of the world's best. Last year, that experience paid dividends, as the Sounders returned from the Club World Cup and went unbeaten in 16 of their next 17 matches, capturing the club's first-ever Leagues Cup title along the way.
They'll look to replicate that success after this year's seven-week World Cup break, starting with Thursday's rivalry match against the Portland Timbers.
“What better game to come back to, watching this Seattle-Portland game, this rivalry,” said Roldan. “It's going to be really special.”
Roldan is still not at 100% to play in Thursday night’s brawl, but he’s determined to make a difference in other ways, carrying what he learned from his time away into the next match and beyond.
“In the most beautiful moment of my career, being at home for the World Cup, I had to face adversity, and reflecting on that and being able to bring that into MLS will be really important because it's not going to be steady,” said Roldan. And now, I'm still injured, so how can I help the group? I'm a big voice in the locker room, so [it’s about] how I can take my experience with the World Cup and bring it back here.”
