FRISCO, Texas - For the last week and a half, four FC Dallas players have been in camp with their respective national teams during the FIFA international break for World Cup Qualifiers.
Brek Shea has been with the U.S. Men's National Team while the Yanks played a home-and-home series against Jamaica while Canadian midfielder Julian de Guzman faced off against the Panamanian duo of Blas Perez and Carlos Rodriguez in a home-and-home series between the Canucks and Los Canaleros. Each player will return to Frisco from international duty with a win and a loss.
Perez and de Guzman saw the most action of the FC Dallas international contingent, each playing the full 90 minutes in both games between Canada and Panama. In the first match, de Guzman came out on the winning end with a 1-0 victory in Toronto off a goal by D.C. United's Dwayne De Rosario.
The home side would prevail again Tuesday night in Panama City, as Rolando Blackburn scored in the first half and Perez scored an emotional goal in the second half to seal the 2-0 win for Panama. Rodriguez didn't see any minutes as the young defender was an unused sub for Panama in both matches.
Shea played in both matches for the USMNT against Jamaica. Once again, the home team won both matches. The young Texan played 18 minutes off the bench in Kingston in the Americans' first-ever loss to the Reggae Boyz on Sept. 7. Fellow Texan Clint Dempsey gave the U.S. an early 1-0 lead in that match before Jamaica scored two goals off free kicks by Rodolph Austin and Luton Shelton to win, 2-1.
The loss made the return match in Columbus, Ohio, even more important for the Yanks. Shea came off the bench once again on Sept. 12 and played 23 minutes as the U.S. MNT defeated Jamaica, 1-0, courtesy of a second half goal scored by Herculez Gomez via a free kick.
All four players will return to Frisco this week as FC Dallas prepares for Saturday's crucial match against the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps FC (7:30 p.m. CT on TXA-21). A win over the Whitecaps this weekend will put FCD within one point of the final playoff spot currently occupied by Vancouver, while a loss will increase Vancouver's lead over Dallas in the standings to seven points. Tickets to Saturday's match are available HERE.
