NYCFC Player Availability: June

June brings about a number of international competitions, including the closing rounds of the U-20 World Cup in South Korea, and World Cup Qualifiers for a number of New York City FC first-team players. Fortunately, the Boys in Blue are taking a bit of an international break between June 3rd (home against the Union) and June 14th (our US Open Cup opener against New York Red Bull). Let’s take a look:

Yangel Herrera:

Venezuela has gone 3-0, scoring 10 goals and conceding none after their victory over Mexico early this morning, advancing to the Round of 16

Herrera has been captain and played every minute so far this tournament.

Venezuela’s next match is 5/30 at 4am against a To-be-determined opponent.

If they win that match, Venezuela will next play in their Quarter-Final on 6/4, which will make him unavailable for NYCFC’s match against Philadelphia on 6/3.

The Semi-Final is on 6/8 – a date with no impact on City’s schedule, as after the Philly match we don’t play again until the USOC match against the Red Bulls on 6/14. If Venezuela makes it to the final on 6/11, it’s safe to assume that Herrera will likely not be available for selection for that match (not to mention we’re limited to 5 international players anyway).

Summary: Should Venezuela go the distance (and they very well could) Herrera will not be available until 6/17 against the Sounders.

—-

Ronald Matarrita/Rodney Wallace:

Matarrita is approaching his return from injury but our enjoyment may be short-lived, as both Wallace and Matarrita will be called away for Costa Rica’s World Cup Qualifiers against Panama (6/8) and Trinidad & Tobago (6/13). This makes each likely unavailable for the USOC match against RB, but they will be back for Seattle.

—-

Miguel Camargo:

Panama has World Cup Qualifiers on 6/8 against Costa Rica, and 6/13 against Honduras. He has the same availability as Mata and Wallace, though Camargo is not likely to be included in the USOC roster anyway.

—-

Maxime Chanot:

Luxembourg has a friendly on 6/4 against Albania, and then a World Cup Qualifier against the Netherlands on 6/9. Chanot may sit out the friendly, but he’ll likely go for the WCQ, despite Luxembourg already being eliminated. There’s enough space here that Chanot should be around for both Philly and RB in the USOC.

—-

Alex Ring:

Finland has a friendly on 6/7 against Liechtenstein and a follow-up WCQ match against Ukraine on 6/11. Finland is in the same boat as Luxembourg, having been already eliminated from their group. It’s possible that Ring forgoes these matches, but it’s uncertain. His availability for RB will be dependent on a couple of factors, including international spot availability. As dutifully pointed out by Nation Twitter follower Jon Densa, Alex Ring has been suspended by FIFA for Yellow Card accumulation (two, vs Croatia and Turkey) and will not be eligible to play for Finland.