COLUMBUS, Ohio – A pair of young American stars for Columbus Crew SC will get their international chance next week.
A source confirmed to MLSsoccer.com Monday that central midfielder Wil Trapp will be returning to the US national team fold for the first time since last January while winger Ethan Finlay is invited to attend his first national team camp.
Update, 6:27 pm ET: A source has also confirmed to MLSsoccer.com that Crew SC central midfielder Tony Tchani will join the US national team for its January camp.
Trapp was first called into camp a year ago, and debuted for the USMNT in a substitute role against Chile Jan. 28. His international chances were limited this season by his recovery from a concussion suffered in March, but he managed 17 starts for Crew SC in 2015.
The central midfielder was a staple of the US youth picture, competing with U-14, U-15 and U-18 teams before serving as the captain of the American team in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2013.
Meanwhile, Finlay has forced his way into the national team picture due to his MLS play.
The former Creighton striker had trouble finding his professional footing after being drafted by Columbus in 2012, but has scored 23 goals to go with 20 assists from the wing since head coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter took over in 2014.
There was speculation that Finlay – whose father was born in Canada – could play for the Canadian national team instead. Finlay has always maintained that he wanted to play for the USMNT, and there have been multiple reports that he would be ineligible for Canada regardless of his preference.
Tchani, also a dual national, was born in Cameroon and moved to Virginia in 2004. He attended the University of Virginia, where he was named the 2008 ACC Freshman of the Year and won the 2009 NCAA National Championship.
He became a US citizen in 2013, and did not accept a call to the Cameroon national team in November due to an injury during the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs, and said amid rumors of a USMNT call the next week that he would have to discuss the issue with his mother if he were called by both nations.
The pair will be called for the annual January camp in Southern California beginning Jan. 10.
The camp, historically used to break new faces into the USMNT picture, is highlighted by the first USMNT friendly of the year Jan. 31 in Los Angeles’s StubHub Center against Iceland. The squad will then face Canada in another friendly Feb. 5.
A United States Soccer Federation spokesman declined to comment on the call-ups.
