US Soccer just announced the 18 man roster for next week's game against South Africa in Cape Town as part of the Nelson Mandela Challenge. The roster has plenty of younger surprises on the roster, one of those being Wizards forward, Teal Bunbury. Bunbury is one of 5 new to the full national team players including Tim Ream, Juan Agudelo, Gale Agbossoumonde, and Mix Diskerud. Looks like Bunbury has already sat down with his dad and agent as he said that he needed to do last week on It's Called Football. In actuality one would think that Bunbury had already made his decision by the time he went on the show last week. Bunbury, a dual USA-Canadian citizen had appeared a few times for the Canadian U-17 and U-20 teams, but earlier this year turned down a call up to the Canadian national team to focus on his club play. It now appears that Bunbury has made his decision on who he wants to play for.
This game will not cap tie Bunbury to the USA, but is certainly a statement from him about his intentions for the future. And it appears that he's turning down the opportunity to represent the country his father did for the United States.
Why does this game not count as an official Cap?
ReplyDeleteIs it a non-FIFA sanctioned date or something?
Also considering the roster he has a shot at starting or at the least playing significant minutes which will be very fun to watch.
It's an official cap Nathan, but it won't cap tie him. FIFA now only recognizes cap ties if they're in WC qualifiers, or continental competitions. See Jermaine Jones.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the clarification.
ReplyDeleteI am very much looking forward to seeing him with other young talents.