Three FC Cincinnati players have been called up to represent their national teams this month. During October’s international break from the 12th to the 17th, three players will partake in qualifying matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Defenders Santiago Arias and Yerson Mosquera were called up for the Columbia National Team. Midfielder Junior Moreno has been called up to the Venezuela National Team.
Junior Moreno and Venezuela will play Brazil on Thursday, October 12th in Cuiaba, Brazil with kickoff at 8:30 p.m. EST. On Tuesday, October 17th, Venezuela will face Chile at the Estadio Monumental de Maturin in Maturin, Venezuela. That game will kick off at 5 p.m. EST.
Columbia will start their set of games off by facing Uruguay on Thursday, October 12th in Barranquilla, Columbia. Arias and Mosquera will then travel to Ecuador to play the Ecuadorian National Team on Tuesday, October 17th. In both games, kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. EST.
Moreno has been a constant for the Venezuela National Team, making 37 appearances so far for Venezuela. Moreno was also called up for the first two World Cup qualifiers for the upcoming World Cup last September, not playing in either. This season Moreno has made 31 appearances, 28 of them being starts. He has gotten four assists and scored two goals as well, the most important one being the game-winning goal in the Hell is Real Derby against Columbus Crew on May 20th.
Arias was a staple for the Colombian National team for numerous years, making 54 appearances in his career and playing in two world cups for Colombia. This is Arias’s second call-up playing for FC Cincinnati, with his first being in September, where Arias played in neither of Colombia’s first two qualifying matches last month. Yerson on the other hand earns his third senior call-up for Columbia and has yet to make an appearance for the senior side after making two appearances for the youth side in previous years. This will be Yerson’s second call-up playing for FC Cincinnati.
Arias has scored three goals and gotten two assists in 30 matches in 2023 for FCC. Yerson Mosquera has been a revelation at defense for FCC, getting the second-most tackles and winning the third-most duels for the team. Yerson has also grabbed two goals and an assist in 30 games and will go back to Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers in January 2024 after spending the last year on loan to FCC.
