FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (October 7, 2024) – Four New England Revolution players earned national team call-ups for upcoming fixtures during the October FIFA international window.
Defender Xavier Arreaga will join Ecuador for two FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay (Oct. 5; 5:00 p.m. ET) and at Uruguay (Oct. 15; 7:30 p.m. ET). Homegrown midfielder Esmir Bajraktarević earned his second call-up to the Bosnia & Herzegovina National Team for a pair of UEFA Nations League home matches against Germany (Oct. 11; 2:45 p.m. ET) and Hungary (Oct. 14, 2:45 p.m. ET). Defender and fellow Revolution Academy product Peyton Miller received a call-up to the United States Under-20 Men's National Team for its training camp and friendly matches in Santiago, Chile. Midfielder Alhassan Yusuf will represent Nigeria in a pair of Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers against Libya (Oct. 11, 12:00 p.m. ET & Oct. 15, 3:00 p.m. ET).
Arreaga picks up his second selection of 2024 as he looks to add to his 20 caps with La Tri. The central defender was on the roster for Ecuador's most recent qualifiers against Brazil and Peru in September. Arreaga last suited up for his country in March 2023 for a pair of friendlies at Australia. Arreaga, who was a member of Ecuador's roster for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, has appeared in nine CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying matches in his career. This season, Arreaga has appeared in 27 MLS games with 23 starts for New England and Seattle.
Bajraktarević will represent Bosnia & Herzegovina on the international stage for the second time after debuting in September. The winger, who was born in Appleton, Wis. and holds Bosnian heritage through his parents, was capped twice last month in a pair of UEFA Nations League A contests and registered his first international assist at the senior level. Bajraktarević previously made his senior international debut in January for the United States Men's National Team in a friendly against Slovenia, and featured heavily for the U.S. Under-23 Olympic Team in their warm-ups for the 2024 Paris games. With the Revolution in 2024, Bajraktarević has set career highs in regular season appearances (27) and starts (21), tallying three goals and three assists in MLS play.
Yusuf, acquired by New England on August 2 from Belgian club Royal Antwerp FC, has collected six caps with the Nigeria National Team, all following his debut earlier in January 2024 in a friendly against Guinea. The 24-year-old midfielder suited up for three appearances, including one start, in the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, coming on as a substitute in the AFCON final. The Kano, Nigeria native earned a call-up last month for a pair of 2025 AFCON Qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda. Yusuf has played in six games for New England since his MLS debut on Sept. 14, including four consecutive starts. Yusuf, who recently made the 200th professional appearance of his club career, has completed 91.6 percent of his passes in MLS to date.
Miller earns his first selection to the United States Under-20 National Team, having previous represented the Stars & Stripes at the U-17, U-16, and U-15 levels. The selection comes at a critical moment for the Under-20 team as it prepares for the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Miller was the second-youngest player on the U.S. roster at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia, appearing in all four matches and tallying one assist in tournament play. The Unionville, Conn. native previously made three appearances for the U.S. U-16 Youth National Team in November 2022, scoring one goal.
In his first MLS campaign, Miller has appeared in nine matches with seven starts since his first-team debut on July 17, with three additional appearances in Leagues Cup 2024. He is the second-youngest player to appear in an MLS match for New England, and the eighth-youngest player in MLS history to record an assist.
All four players will miss New England's away match on October 12 at Columbus Crew. They will return for the Revolution's 2024 regular season finale on MLS Decision Day, October 19 at Inter Miami CF. Watch every MLS match with **MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app**. Listen to the Revolution on 98.5 The Sports Hub and 1260 AM Nossa Radio USA (Portuguese).
