SEATTLE, WASH. – Six Sounders FC players have been called into international duty for the March FIFA window, including Xavier Arreaga (Ecuador), Nouhou (Cameroon), Alex Roldan (El Salvador) and Raúl RuidÃaz (Peru) all joining their respective senior national teams. Reed Baker-Whiting and Obed Vargas have also been called-up to U-19 and U-20 United States Youth Men’s National Team camps, respectively.
Arreaga, 28, has 18 career caps for Ecuador dating back to 2018. The defender was most recently included in Ecuador’s final roster for the 2022 FIFA World Cup QatarTM, appearing on the bench for each of the Ecuador’s three matches. He also had nine appearances during the squad’s 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, scoring his lone international goal in a 6-1 win over Colombia on November 17, 2020. Ecuador is set to play a pair of friendlies against Australia on March 24 (2:00 a.m. PT / ESPN+) and March 28 (1:30 a.m. PT / ESPN+). Arreaga recently made his 100th appearance in all competitions for Seattle, coming on as a substitute on Saturday against LAFC.
Nouhou, 23, has 21 career caps for Cameroon since 2018, playing every minute in all three of Cameroon’s 2022 FIFA World CupTM matches, including the country’s historic 1-0 win over Brazil. The Douala native also had six appearances (five starts) during the nation’s FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, in addition to six starts during Cameroon’s Africa Cup of Nations fourth-place tournament run in early 2022. Cameroon is slated to play a pair of Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Namibia on March 24 and 28. Nouhou, who recently agreed to a new contract with Sounders FC, has started each of Seattle’s four regular season matches in 2023.
Roldan, 26, has 16 career caps for El Salvador since making his international debut in a 2-0 win over Guatemala at the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup, a game in which he scored his first international goal. The defender appeared in 11 matches (10 starts) during El Salvador’s 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign, captaining the squad on multiple occasions. El Salvador is set to play a friendly against Honduras in Los Angeles on March 22 before facing the U.S. Men’s National Team in Orlando in a Concacaf Nations League match on March 27 (4:30 p.m. PT / TNT, NBC Universo, Peacock). Roldan has tallied two assists so far for Seattle to start its 2023 MLS campaign.
RuidÃaz, 32, has 52 career caps and four goals for Peru, most recently appearing in seven matches (two starts) during the country’s 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign. Peru is set to play a pair of friendlies against Germany on March 25 in Mainz, Germany and Morocco on March 28 in Madrid, Spain. RuidÃaz has made two appearances for Seattle this year, getting his first start of the year on Saturday against LAFC.
Baker-Whiting, 17, has joined U-19 USMYNT camp in Buenos Aires ahead of matchups against Argentina on March 24 and Racing Club de Avellaneda on March 27. Vargas, 17, joins the U-20 squad in Marbella, Spain for the final training camp before the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia. The U-20s are set to face France on March 22, England on March 24 and Serbia on March 28.
Following a scoreless draw to LAFC on Saturday, Seattle Sounders FC (2-1-1, 7 points) hits the road to face Sporting Kansas City (0-2-2, 2 points) on Saturday, March 25 at Children’s Mercy Park (5:30 p.m. PT / Apple TV, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM).
