FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – There was much hand-wringing amongst New England Revolution fans when Juan Agudelo wasn’t named to the initial 23-man roster for the current U.S. National Team camp, but it turns out Agudelo will get his chance on the international stage after all.
The 23-year-old striker has joined the USMNT in Washington, D.C., ahead of Tuesday night’s friendly against New Zealand (8 p.m. ET on ESPN), one of several changes to the roster after Friday evening’s 2-0 win over Cuba in Havana.
This is Agudelo’s first national team call-up since June 2015 – when he was on the U.S. roster for a pair of historic road wins against the Netherlands and Germany – and the Colombian-born, New Jersey-raised forward is over the moon to have another opportunity to don the Stars and Stripes.
“I’m counting down the days (until the game),” Agudelo said. “It’s a huge honor. I’m excited to see some old faces that I haven’t seen in a while. I can’t express how excited I am.”
Tuesday night’s friendly against New Zealand will be the U.S. National Team’s last test before opening the Hexagonal round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying against Mexico on November 11, and while Agudelo has only a brief window to impress – a couple of training sessions and the match itself – he’s prepared to grab hold of the opportunity and prove he should be on the roster moving forward.
“As soon as I heard I got the call, I was preparing myself in every way possible, because these opportunities don’t come often,” Agudelo said. “You want to make a stamp into (head coach) Jurgen (Klinsmann’s) mind so that you may get another call-up in the future.
“Any possibility to be in the training sessions and be in the eyes of the coach and assistant coaches – and even the players so that you gain a little bit of respect – is huge. I’m going to try to make the most of the little time that I have with the team.”
Agudelo, who has three goals in 19 career international appearances, earned this opportunity with a stellar run of form at the league level. Since returning from a knee injury that sidelined him for much of the summer, he’s registered five goals and three assists in his last six games in all competitions.
It’s a just reward for Agudelo, whose fine run of form has been underlined by a tireless work-rate.
“It’s really exciting because you work your butt off, and to see the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s really rewarding,” he said. “You just want to take full advantage of the chance that [you’ve been given], because there are other players that wish they had the opportunity that I have. I’m very grateful.
“I definitely feel in form. It’s huge for players to have that confidence leading up to big games, especially when it’s representing your own country. It’s huge. Right now, I’m feeling really good about my fitness and I’m feeling really good about my play, so the sky’s the limit right now. I’ll try to make the most of it.”
Revolution head coach Jay Heaps agrees that the sky’s the limit for Agudelo, still a relative youngster at 23 years old despite already having seven seasons of professional experience.
Heaps used Agudelo in an interchanging role with Lee Nguyen last weekend against Sporting KC, allowing the pair to shift between the forward line and a playmaking position behind the strikers. The move paid dividends, as Agudelo set up Kei Kamara’s opening goal before capping the scoring himself.
“He’s dynamic like that, and he’s still maturing and still becoming a complete player,” Heaps said of Agudelo. “That’s what I love about Juan is his upside. I don’t think we’ve even scratched the surface on it. The past couple games we’ve seen that when he’s fully fit, when he’s fully engaged, when he’s fully committed, he not only scores goals, but he also creates for others.”
