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Major League Soccer will bring a lot of talent to the forthcoming World Cup in Qatar, but some teams are going to find that level of commitment harder than others. Here come the Orlando City SC, an eight-year-old club from Florida that was established in 2013, and last season ended its MLS campaign in the first round of the playoffs.
Like many MLS sides, Orlando City boasts true international flavor. There are players from all aspects of football across the World. Logically, most international players are from South or Central America, but there are some Europeans as well like Republic of Ireland’s Jake Mulraney, Austria’s Ercan Kara, Sweden’s Robin Jansson, or the Portuguese talent Joao Moutinho. None of them will get a call-up for the World Cup, some of them because their countries couldn’t make it to the ultimate football competition, and some of them because they are still not good enough.
However, there are a few who could see the World Cup, at least as backups. Facundo Torres is the one name who could see some action in Qatar. He is a 22-year-old left-winger with a great skill set that compliments the way Uruguay plays. He scored nine goals for Orlando City this year with eight assists in 33 matches played. Torres was Orlando’s most expensive signing this year from the biggest club in Uruguay, Penarol.
Torres has ten caps so far for Uruguay, but his ultimate dream is to represent his country at the World Cup, especially next to the country’s biggest name, Luis Suarez.
Uruguay’s defensive issues
Uruguay could face some scrutiny in the back line at the World Cup and defensive midfielder Cesar Araujo certainly hopes he can be a part of the 26-man final squad that Diego Alonso will soon announce. Araujo is an important part of Orlando’s setup, but his unfortunate circumstance is that he is yet to feature for his country meaning that Alonso could decide to not risk taking someone who hasn’t experienced international football to Qatar.
However, Alonso did put Araujo in his preliminary squad, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll make the final cut.
Formerly out of Orlando City, but a new member of Los Angeles FC since July, Sebas Mendez could have a chance of making it to the World Cup. He already has 31 caps for Ecuador, but since coming to California, has struggled for minutes. He played in eleven matches for his new team without a meaningful impact.
Mendez, on the other hand, is a constant feature for Ecuador since his debut in 2018, and could finally fulfill his dream of playing at the World Cup.
Orlando City has other talented players, the most familiar one is Alexandre Pato. Formerly of AC Milan, the Brazilian played in 27 matches for his country scoring ten goals in the process. However, those times are long gone. Pato has settled in Florida relaxing in his soon to be retirement, and can only dream about getting another chance to represent his country at the biggest tournament in the world.
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