FRISCO - Just two weeks after returning to FC Dallas, Kellyn Acosta and Matt Hedges are headed back out on international duty with the U.S. Men's National Team for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
“It’s definitely a great opportunity for me, I’m excited for the call-up,” Acosta said, “It’s another big tournament and another opportunity for me to showcase what I’m all about, what I’ve been doing here at FC Dallas.”
“It means a ton,” Hedges said of his third call-up of 2017. “I mean getting into a National Team tournament and maybe being able to get minutes in there is a huge opportunity.”
Both players were a part of USMNT camp around June’s World Cup Qualifiers, with Acosta seeing time in both games while Hedges remained on the bench. With a lot of newer faces included in this year's Gold Cup squad, it’s an opportunity for both to prove their spot heading into the next round of qualifying.
“It might not be the same core group of guys that are going to be here for Gold Cup, so I mean it’s just an opportunity for me to step up and play some key minutes,” said Acosta, who could take the reins of a starting role during the tournament. “I need to do well in training and then hopefully I can get a call-up to play in some games and get some good minutes.”
“Minutes. [I’m going to] try to impress Bruce and win a spot for future qualifiers and the future,” Hedges said of what he hopes to accomplish with his latest call-up. “I think that’s the most important thing is just being there and showing your quality. They’ll be able to see and make their decision.”
Acosta and Hedges will leave Monday to join U.S. camp ahead of the 2017 tournament. The Americans open up their Gold Cup group stage with a meeting against Panama on July 8, before facing Martinique on July 12 and Nicaragua on July 15.
