Five Houston Dynamo players have been called up by their respective national teams ahead of the upcoming FIFA fixture weekend, the club announced today.
Forwards Alberth Elis and Romell Quioto along with defender Maynor Figueroa were called up by Honduras; midfielder Darwin Cerénwas called up by El Salvador; and defender Kiki Struna was named to the Slovenian National Team.
This is Struna’s first call-up since signing with the Dynamo in December. The 28-year-old has earned 12 caps at the senior international level and has represented his country in both World Cup Qualifying and the UEFA Nations League. Slovenia are set to play at Israel on Thursday, March 21 and host Macedonia on Sunday, March 24 in UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying.
In his first season with the Dynamo, Struna has appeared in five games in all competitions and has started both of the club’s MLS contests. The center back earned MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week honors in his league debut after leading a Dynamo defense that shut down Montreal Impact star Ignacio Piatti in a 2-1 win on March 9.
Honduras will take on Ecuador in New Jersey on Tuesday, March 26 in an international friendly. Figueroa holds the record for most appearances for Los Catrachos, and his next cap will be the 150th of his career. Quioto has earned 41 caps for Honduras and has scored nine goals, while Elis has been capped 30 times and has scored seven goals.
Figueroa has started six of Houston’s seven matches in all competitions this season, his first with the club. Elis has scored 22 goals and added 16 assists in two-plus seasons with the Dynamo and already ranks in the top 10 in club history in both categories. Quioto has pumped in 15 assists and scored 13 goals since moving to Houston in 2017.
Cerén and El Salvador will host Jamaica in Concacaf Nations League play on Saturday, March 23 before taking on Peru in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, March 26. Cerén has earned 42 caps for Los Cuscatlecos, most recently in November when he started in a 1-0 friendly win over Haiti.
Cerén made his 100th career appearance in MLS play on March 9 against the Montreal Impact. The 29-year-old scored on his Dynamo debut in 2018 against Atlanta United and has made 25 appearances for the club in that time span.
