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Cucho Hernandez, Mo Farsi among Columbus Crew players to earn national team call-ups
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- Cucho Hernandez, Mo Farsi among Columbus Crew players to earn national team call-ups
Since the beginning of the season, Crew coach Wilfried Nancy has been open about his belief that striker Cucho Hernandez should be playing for Colombia 's national team. On Thursday, it was announced that Hernandez received his first international call-up since 2018.
"He should have had the call up earlier," Nancy said. "Obviously to play with his national team, this is really important, but he's really good to control what he can control. So, good for him and good for the other guys."
Hernandez is one of four players who has already been called up to a national team ahead of the FIFA international play window, which runs from Sep. 2 to Sep. 10.
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Goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen and defender Steven Moreira will be representing Guatemala and Cape Verde, respectively. Midfielder Mo Farsi will be playing for Alegria in Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, marking his first time on a senior international roster.
August 17, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Crew forward Cucho Hernandez (9) and Columbus Crew defender Mohamed Farsi (23) run to celebrate a win against New York City FC on penalty kicks in a Leagues Cup quarterfinal match at Lower.com Field.
The road to playing for Algeria was a complicated one for Farsi, as he had ties to two countries and could have represented either. Hailing from Montreal, Farsi is of Algerian descent.
"It was really difficult for him to choose between Canada and Algeria," Nancy said. "He was coming sometimes to practice, and he was not feeling good, because he loves Canada. He loves also Algeria. But he followed his soul."
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In 2021, Farsi played for Canada's U-23 team in 2020 Olympic qualifiers and two years later got the call to play for Canada in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. It was an opportunity Farsi would deny.
Shortly after that call, Farsi would put in the paperwork with FIFA to switch his international allegiance to Algeria, which took around a year to be approved.
"Since I was young, I wanted to play for Algeria," Farsi said. "Algeria's a team I've followed since I was 8, 9 years old. I grew up watching Algeria's national team, so it was a dream of mine. I don't have a lot of dreams in football, but this was one of them."
Jul 6, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Crew defender Mohamed Farsi (23) celebrates scoring a goal during the second half of the MLS soccer match against Toronto FC at Lower.com Field. The Crew won 4-0.
Columbus Crew wanted Philadelphia Union match to be rescheduled during international window
While more than half of MLS clubs have nothing scheduled during the international break, the Crew are one of 12 teams playing on, Sept. 7. The Crew are facing the Seattle Sounders in a match that was pushed back from June to accommodate for the CONCACAF Champions Cup final.
Forward Cucho Hernandez is one of three Crew designated players, and his contract runs through 2025 with a club option for 2026.
If Nancy had it his way, Columbus' game last Wednesday against the Philadelphia Union would have been on the Sept. 4, during the international break. The Crew would have preferred playing with missing players rather than three days after the Leagues Cup final , but the Union, who were concerned about being without upward to nine players, were allowed to make the decision as it was their home game.
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"For us, we needed a week between the final and the game (against New York City FC )," Nancy said. "But I understood why they didn't do it. Usually, I don't like to play during the FIFA break, but sometimes we have to do it."
The Crew beat the Union 1-0 and go into their upcoming match against NYCFC on Saturday on a six-game winning streak.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew: Cucho Hernandez, Mo Farsi, earn national team call-ups
