Etienne Jr., Fraser, Molino, Room and Zardes receive call-ups with respective national teams
COLUMBUS – Columbus Crew today announced that five players have earned an international call-up ahead of the July international window: Derrick Etienne Jr. (Haiti), Kevin Molino (Trinidad and Tobago), Liam Fraser (Canada), Eloy Room (Curacao), and Gyasi Zardes (United States).
Etienne Jr. and Molino will represent their national teams in Concacaf Gold Cup qualifiers today, Tuesday, July 6 at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Etienne Jr. and Haiti defeated Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 6-1 on Friday, July 2 and are set to face Bermuda in the second preliminary round tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET. Similarly, Molino and Trinidad and Tobago defeated Montserrat 6-1 on July 2 and face French Guiana at 4:30 p.m. ET this afternoon. Should Haiti or Trinidad and Tobago advance, they would enter the group stage of the Concacaf Gold Cup, with Etienne Jr. and Haiti entering Group B and Molino and Trinidad and Tobago entering Group A.
Etienne Jr. has been capped 26 times by Haiti, most recently appearing in a 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup qualifying match and scoring the third goal against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on July 2, 2021. He has scored four goals and provided three assists. Molino has made 48 caps for Trinidad and Tobago, last appearing in a 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup qualifying match and scoring the first goal against Montserrat on July 3, 2021. He has scored 21 goals for Trinidad and Tobago.
Fraser, Room, and Zardes will join their national teams for the Concacaf Gold Cup, with the tournament beginning on Saturday, July 10. In Group B, Fraser and Canada, as well as Zardes and the United States, will play three matches at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Canada faces Martinique on July 11, a yet-to-be-determined opponent on July 15, and the United States on July 18, while the United States faces the yet-to-be-determined side on July 11, Martinique on July 15, and Canada on July 18.
Room and Curacao will play three matches in the Dallas, Texas area during the group stage of the tournament. In Group A action, Curacao open against El Salvador at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas on July 10, take on Mexico at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas on July 14, and face a yet-to-be-determined side on July 14 at Toyota Stadium.
Fraser has earned five caps for Canada, last appearing in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Aruba on June 5, 2021. Zardes has been capped 56 times by the United States, last appearing in a friendly against Costa Rica on February 1, 2020. He has scored 12 goals and provided nine assists. Room has earned 40 caps with Curacao, last appearing in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Panama on June 15.
Columbus Crew’s current roster features 11 players that have received a senior National Team call-up: Harrison Afful, Luis Diaz, Derrick Etienne, Jr., Waylon Francis, Liam Fraser, Perry Kitchen, Jonathan Mensah, Kevin Molino, Darlington Nagbe, Eloy Room and Gyasi Zardes.
This weekend, the Crew travels to face FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium on Friday, July 9 [7:30 p.m. ET / Bally Sports Ohio, Bally Sports App (Stream) / 97.1 The Fan & 971thefan.com (English); ColumbusCrew.com (Spanish)].
