After a long week that started in Guadalajara and ended in Dallas, Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan didn't fly back to Seattle with the rest of his Sounders teammates. Instead, he went to North Carolina to join 22 other young American players ahead the U.S. national team's friendly against Paraguay on March 27.
"Training has been great," Roldan told media on Thursday afternoon. "A lot of young guys, a lot of guys with energy. It makes for a very quick pace, fast-tempo practice. You always want to be part of those."
Roldan, 22, has emerged as a consistent call-up for the Stars and Stripes, as the U.S. shifts its focus to a younger squad after failing to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Roldan was also summoned to January camp two months ago, in which he started in an international friendly against Bosnia. This week, Roldan has noticed the effort put it in by his countrymen.
"The international level is a little bit faster," Roldan said. "If you can match that with a lot of energy, it makes for even quicker tempo. You will see a lot of guys running and doing that extra bit of running. Any time you have a group of young guys who have bought into the system and ready to compete, you’re going to be in competitive games."
The FIFA international break comes at an interesting time for Roldan, who has been one of the few healthy key contributors for the Sounders this season. Between being knocked out of the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal and beginning MLS play with two losses, the Rave Green have had a difficult start to the 2018 campaign.
"Any time you’re going through a tough string of games it’s important to step away from soccer," Roldan said. "For [the Sounders], we had a couple days off. For myself, coming here and [it is] coming to a new team that is ambitious for a different, international game.
"My focus for right now is with the U.S. this week, and hopefully we can get a good result."
The cold, snowy weather in North Carolina may come as a quick transition for the fourth-year pro after spending the past week in Mexico and Central Texas. It's nothing Roldan can't handle, of course.
"The cold wasn’t too bad for me, coming from Seattle," Roldan said with a smile. "We’re excited to play under this weather, you can run for days. It’s going to be fun."
The U.S. national team hosts Paraguay on March 27 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
