Nine Columbus Crew SC players were summoned by their respective national teams and traveled to 12 different countries this past week. Here's how the Black & Gold did around the world.
Afful captains Ghana's Black Stars
Harrison Afful experienced the most success among his Crew SC teammates, winning both matches with Ghana. In his first international call-ups since joining Crew SC, the defender captained the Black Stars to a 3-2 win in a friendly versus Congo. He then went the full 90 in Ghana's Africa Cup of Nations qualification match, helping the Black Stars to a 1-0 victory over Rwanda.
Campbell earns first call-ups for Jamaica since 2010
Sergio Campbell was called up by Jamaica for the first time since the 2010 Caribbean Championship, where he earned his first two caps. This time, Campbell headed to Nicaragua for two CONCACAF qualifying matches for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. The Reggae Boyz split the two-legged series with Nicaragua dropping the first one 3-2, then winning 1-0 on Tuesday. With three goals in two matches, Jamaica advanced to the Fourth Round of qualifying.
Francis earns cap for Costa Rica
Waylon Francis stayed in the States for two friendlies with the Costa Rican national team. The defender didn’t make an appearance in the first match against Brazil, which the Selecao won 1-0 at Red Bull Arena. But Francis came on as a substitute against Uruguay, earning his third cap for his country and helping Los Ticos to a 1-0 win.
George, Soca Warriors play another wild match
Kevan George earned his 15th cap in Trinidad & Tobago’s friendly with Mexico on Friday. After the two sides split eight goals at the Gold Cup this July, they played another wild one drawing 3-3 at Rio Tinto Stadium.
“It was a lot of fun, reuniting with old teammates that I’ve played with in other ages groups,” George says. “They’re like family, so it was a good, good experience, outside the practice field and the game. We were kind of reminiscing on the Gold Cup and setting our sights on hopefully qualifying for the World Cup.”
George was satisfied with the result this weekend.
“We should’ve won that game because they scored at the last minute, but it’s a tie against Mexico, and that’s positive for us. It kind of verified that, ‘hey, we’re starting to really make some noise, and really want to be taken seriously.’”
Mabwati earns 14th cap for DR Congo
Cedrick Mabwati was called up by DR Congo for the first time since joining Crew SC for a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match. DR Congo was upset by the Central African Republic 2-0, but Mabwati was still able to draw positives from the match.
“It’s such a great feeling, especially being from there, representing your country," he says. "You also have family there that’s so proud of you when you’re playing for your country. It’s just a humbling, great and beautiful experience.”
Mabwati also had the opportunity to reconnect with his roots.
“It was about two hours, but being with my friends and my family, that was the best part about it," he says. "I had a lot of fun getting to see them, so it was nice.”
Meram scores first two international goals for Iraq
Justin Meram had a couple eventful days with the Iraq national team, playing in both qualification matches for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He scored his first international goal with a penalty kick, contributing to a 5-1 route of Chinese Taipei. Meram then carried his attacking goal-scoring mentality into the next match, putting one in the back of the net to give the Lions of Mesopotamia a 1-0 lead over Thailand in the 34th minute. Iraq went on to draw with Thailand 2-2.
Swanson earns first cap for United States Under-20s
Ben Swanson earned his first-ever call up by the U.S. U-20s for the 2015 Stevan Vilotic Tournament in Serbia. He started against the host country in a friendly that the U.S. went on to lose 3-1. They also lost to France 6-1, but ended the week on a high note, beating Israel 2-0.
Trapp debuts for United States Under-23
Wil Trapp earned a call up by the United States Under-23 squad in their last training camp ahead of 2015 CONCACAF Olympic qualifiers. He started for the Red, White and Blue in a friendly against England’s U-23s. England went on to win 1-0.
“It was my first camp with them, actually, so it was crazy," Trapp says. "Getting to play against a quality side in England, and some top, young players from their country was a great experience and, I think, a great setup game for what’s coming in qualifying next month.”
Kamara's Sierra Leone earns impressive draw with Ivory Coast
Kei Kamara traveled to Lagos, Nigeria for Sierra Leone's 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against the Ivory Coast. The striker earned his 24th cap in the 0-0 draw with the reigning AFCON champions. His last appearance was almost a year ago in the Leone Stars AFCON qualifier on September 10, 2014 against DR Congo.
