March 23, 2022
COLUMBUS – Columbus Crew today announced that defender Milos Degenek (Australia), midfielders Derrick Etienne Jr. (Haiti) and Yaw Yeboah (Ghana), and Crew 2’s Abdi Mohamed (Somalia) have been called-up by their respective national teams for the upcoming FIFA international window.
Degenek and Australia host Japan at Stadium Australia in Sydney on March 24 before traveling to face Saudi Arabia at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The Socceroos currently sit in third place in Group B of the Asian Football Confederation’s FIFA World Cup Qualifying. Degenek had been capped 33 times, most recently appearing in a World Cup Qualifier against Oman on Feb. 1, 2022.
Etienne Jr. will join Haiti in a friendly against Guatemala at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on March 27. Etienne Jr. has 31 international appearances to his credit, last appearing in a Gold Cup match against Guatemala on July 18, 2021.
Yeboah and Ghana host Nigeria at Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi, Ghana on March 25 before heading to Nigeria for the second leg of the series, which will be played at Abuja National Stadium in Abuja, Nigeria on March 29. The Black Stars currently sit in first place of the Confederation of African Football’s Group G World Cup Qualifying table. Yeboah made his senior international debut in a friendly against Namibia on June 9, 2019 and has since appeared 12 times for the Black Stars.
In 2023 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying action, Crew 2’s Mohamed and Somalia travel to face Eswatini on March 23 before hosting the return leg on March 27. Mohamed made his senior international debut in Somalia’s 1-0 win over Zimbabwe on Sept. 5, 2019.
Initially selected to represent Armenia in a pair of friendlies, midfielder Lucas Zelarayan will miss international duty this window due to a right knee injury suffered during the Crew’s 1-1 road draw at the New York Red Bulls on Sunday. Zelarayan is only expected to miss 1-2 weeks.
Following the international break, the Crew returns to action against Nashville SC (1-2-1, 4 points) at Lower.com Field on Saturday, April 2 [6 p.m. ET / Bally Sports Ohio, Bally Sports App (Stream) / 1460 ESPN (English); ColumbusCrew.com (Spanish)]. Tickets for the match can be found here.
Crew 2 kicks off the 2022 MLS NEXT Pro regular season on the road against Inter Miami CF II at DRV PNK Stadium on Saturday, March 26 at 6:00 p.m. ET. The match will be available via live stream on mlsnextpro.com.
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