PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers today announced that midfielder James Marcelin (Haiti), defender Steve Purdy (El Salvador) and forward Brian Umony (Uganda) have been called up to their respective national teams for upcoming international matches.
Marcelin and Purdy each depart Friday to join their national team teammates in preparation for 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Umony leaves over the weekend for Uganda, where he will participate in a friendly, four-nation tournament.
Marcelin, 25, joins the Haiti National Team for a home-and-home set against Antigua and Barbuda in World Cup qualifying. The two countries, who sit atop Group F, will face off in St. John on Friday, Nov. 11, before playing in Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, Nov. 15. Marcelin has played in all four of Haiti’s 2014 World Cup qualifying matches, scoring two goals and helping the team to an unbeaten 3-0-1 record. Marcelin has been a part of the Haiti National Team since 2007.
Purdy, 26, has been called up by the El Salvador National Team for a fourth time in 2011. He scored his first international goal in El Salvador’s 4-0 win over the Cayman Islands on Oct. 11, earning his second senior cap. El Salvador faces Suriname in a pair of World Cup qualifying matches, starting Friday, Nov. 11. The two teams will then meet in El Salvador on Friday, Nov. 15. The El Salvador National Team leads Group A with a perfect 4-0-0 record in qualification.
Umony, 22, and the Uganda National Team will compete in a four-nation tournament, called the Nation LG Cup, Nov. 11-13 in Morocco. In addition to Uganda, the tournament will feature the national teams of host-nation Morocco, Cameroon and Sudan. Umony, who has eight goals in 12 international matches, recently started for Uganda in a 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Kenya on Oct. 8. Following the four-team tournament, Uganda will participate in the upcoming 2011 CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup starting at the end of November.
