Philly Sports Jabronis
Report From Philadelphia Union
CHESTER, Pa.– Philadelphia Union midfielder Alejandro Bedoya has been named to the final United States Men’s National Team Roster for their upcoming World Cup Qualifying Matches on November 11 vs. Mexico in Columbus, Ohio and on November 15 vs. Costa Rica in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Bedoya has earned 55 international caps, including four FIFA World Cup appearances. At the international level, Bedoya continues to be an indispensable option for USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann. In 2014, Bedoya set a single year career-high 11 starts, starting in three matches in the World Cup, including the Round of 16 match against Belgium. He appeared in all three of the group stage matches, starting the opener for the U.S. against Ghana on June 16 and the second game against Portugal on June 22, and coming on as a second-half sub against Germany. Bedoya scored the game-winner in the 1-0 win against Czech Republic on Sept. 3 in Prague and was a driving force in the team’s semifinal run during the 2016 Copa America Centenario. Overall, he’s scored two goals and handed out eight assists in his international career.
The Union acquired Bedoya via the Allocation Process after the club secured the top spot in the Allocation Ranking Order in a trade with the Chicago Fire. Since joining the Union, Bedoya recorded a goal and logged 844 minutes in 10 regular season starts for Philadelphia. Bedoya recorded the first postseason road goal in Philadelphia Union club history on Oct. 26 against Toronto.
Philadelphia Union goalkeeper Andre Blake has been called up to the Jamaican National Team for a Caribbean Cup Qualifier on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016, the club announced today. Blake, 25, just completed his third professional season in MLS after being selected with the first overall pick by the Union in the 2014 SuperDraft. He is the only player in MLS history to be selected No. 1 overall as a goalkeeper. Blake has started 39 career MLS matches and already amassed 132 saves. He also broke the franchise’s single-game record for saves (with 10 against New England Revolution on Sept. 26, 2015) and secured the franchise’s first ever win, both in Montreal (keeping a clean sheet over the Impact on Aug. 22, 2015), and Columbus (a 2-1 win on March 12, 2016). This season, Blake was the starting goalkeeper in the 2016 MLS All-Star Game in San Jose, where he earned Sportscenter’s No. 1 play of the night with a save against English Premier League power Arsenal.
Blake’s call-up comes just months after he served as the starting goalkeeper in all three matches for Jamaica in the 2016 Copa America Centenario. He was a member of the Reggae Boyz for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup, where Jamaica finished as runners-up, as well as making his World Cup debut in 2018 qualifiers in September as Jamaica advanced over Nicaragua. He’s made 18 career appearances on the senior team with his first coming on March 2, 2014 against Barbados where he kept a clean sheet during a 2-0 win. Blake also backboned the team to the 2014 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup championship, where Jamaica defeated Trinidad and Tobago in the finals.
