Three Crew players receive international call-ups

While the Columbus Crew continues to battle to keep the team’s MLS Cup playoff hopes alive, it’s once again time to shift focus toward the final international break of the year before the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Qatar come November 20-December 18. And multiple Crew players will be in action during that international break.

The club announced this week that three players have received call-ups to their respective nations during the September international window. This list includes center back Milos Degenek and midfielders Kevin Molino and Lucas Zelarayan.

Degenek joins Australia for two international friendlies against neighboring Oceanic rival New Zealand. The first match of the two-leg series will be at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Sept. 22 at 6 a.m. ET. During the match, the Socceroos will announce the list of players selected for the country’s “Team of the Century.” Just three days after Australia will meet the All Whites in Queensland, as the countries will play the final leg of the series at Auckland’s Eden Park on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 11 p.m. ET.

Degenek has been capped 36 times by the Socceroos, with his last appearance coming in a 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier against the United Arab Emirates on June 7.

Molino returns to the Trinidad & Tobago squad for the first time since the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup group stage where he featured in all three games before having to leave early after 23 minutes against Guatemala. Trinidad and Tobago will travel to the Chiang Mai province of Thailand to face Tajikistan in the opening round of the 2022 King’s Cup, set to take place at 700th Anniversary Stadium on Sept. 22-25. The winner of the opening match is set to face the winner between Thailand and Malaysia in the final on Sunday, Sept. 25.

Zelarayan will reunite with Armenia for the country’s UEFA Nations League matches against Ukraine and Ireland over the next two weeks. This will be the first time Zelarayan has joined the Eastern European nation in almost a year after injuries kept him out of the squad. The Mountaineers currently sit in the relegation spot of group one in the group B portion of the UEFA Nations League standings with three points after four matches played. Ukraine leads the group with seven points followed by Scotland with six points and Ireland with four points.

Armenia will host leaders Ukraine on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 9 a.m. ET. inside Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in Yerevan, Armenia, before traveling to Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland on Tuesday, Sept. 27 with kickoff set for 2:45 p.m. ET.

After the international window concludes, the Crew will return to Lower.com Field on Saturday, Oct. 1 for the team’s final home game of the 2022 regular season against the New York Red Bulls. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.