Three Sounders FC players called into international duty

SEATTLE, WASH. – Sounders FC announced today that three players are being called up to for international duty: Xavier Arreaga (Ecuador), Raúl Ruidíaz (Peru) and Gustav Svensson (Sweden). The call-ups coincide with Group Stage matchups in the Qualifying Round for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Arreaga continues his recent stretch of national team appearances for Ecuador, having been first called up for a friendly in 2018 and tallying six caps to date. La Tricolor takes the pitch for its qualifying match against Argentina on October 8 before hosting Uruguay on October 13.

Ruidíaz, Sounders FC’s leading goal-scorer on the season, gets the nod for a pair of qualifying matches. Peru will first face Paraguay this Thursday, October 8, followed by a matchup against Brazil on October 13. Ruidíaz previously has 43 caps for La Blanquirroja dating back to 2011, getting 17 starts and scoring a total of four goals in the process.

Svensson rejoins Sweden, where he has 28 caps and was a part of the team’s quarterfinal run during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Sweden faces off against Russia on Thursday, October 8 in a friendly before UEFA Nations League fixtures against 2018 World Cup runner up Croatia on October 11 and Portugal on October 14.

After a resounding 3-1 win over Cascadia rival Vancouver, Sounders FC (8-3-3, 27 points) hosts Real Salt Lake (4-5-6, 18 points) on Wednesday, October 7 at CenturyLink Field (7:00 p.m. PT / JOEtv, Prime Video, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360 AM).