Besler Called Up for US Friendlies

Sporting KC's season is over, but some of KC's players are still going playing. Two players are currently with their respective national teams.

Team captain, Matt Besler was called up this morning for a pair of friendlies in Europe against Colombia and Ireland. While calling him up makes sense from a team composition stand point, and Jurgen Klinsmann likely wants to get him more time in central defense next to Jermaine Jones, this seems like a foolish call up. Besler has looked exhausted down the stretch for KC and has been carrying a knock from the bruise he picked up against Honduras the last time he was on national team duty. After playing pretty consistently for the better part of almost two years, Besler probably just needs a break at this point.

The other call up for Kansas City has actually been with his national team for a while. Martin Steuble was called up by the Philippines as they prepare for the AFF Suzuki Cup. The day after Kansas City's season ended against New York, Steuble was on the field for the Philippines as they defeated Nepal 3-0 in Qatar. Then yesterday in Thailand, the Philippines fell 3-0. They have one more friendly on Wednesday against Cambodia before playing Laos (22nd), Indonesia (25th), and Vietnam (28th) in the group stage of the Suzuki Cup.