6 Union Players Receive National Team Call Ups

Chester, Pa. – Philadelphia Union announced today that six players, including Brian Brown, Andre Blake, Michael Lahoud, Rais Mbolhi, Zach Pfeffer and Carlos Valdes, have received invitations to represent their countries in various international friendlies September 1-10.

Brown and Blake will join Jamaica as they take on Canada in Toronto on September 9, while Lahoud will play for Sierra Leone against the Ivory Coast and The Congo on September 6 and 10, respectively. Mbolhi will be in goal as Algeria faces Ethiopia on September 6 and Mali on September 10.  Valdes will travel to Miami for Colombia’s match against Brazil on September 5 and Pfeffer will join the US U-20 team for a camp in Buenos Aires, Argentina from September 1-10.  The U-20 national team will take on Argentina’s U-20 squad on September 9.   They could also potentially play two matches against two first division reserve teams but details will be announced in the future.

Mbolhi, Valdes, Lahoud and Pfeffer will miss both of the Union’s matches against Toronto on September 3 and 6.  Brown and Blake will not miss any Union matches, as the duo will remain in Toronto following the September 6 match and return to Philadelphia on September 10.

Valdes and Mbolhi rejoin their national teams for the first time since the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.  Colombia advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in history, while Algeria advanced to the quarterfinal round, falling to eventual champion Germany.