Union head to Portland with a depleted squad due to FIFA International Window
The Philadelphia Union will be short-handed against Portland Timbers with only 16 players available due to FIFA International Window.
Chester PA — The Union head out to Portland to take on the Portland Timbers for their fourth MLS game of the season, but doing so, they’ll be shorthanded due to FIFA’s official International Window.
The Union will be without a total of 8 players when they take on Portland Saturday night, as Damion Lowe, Andre Blake (Jamaica), Jesús Bueno, José Martínez (Venezuela), Jack McGlynn, Nathan Harriel (US U23’s) Dániel Gazdag (Hungary) and Tai Baribo (Israel) have all been called up to represent their national teams. Though, the Union won’t be the only team in this match missing players. Portland will be without starting goalkeeper and centerback Maxime Crépeau and Kamal Miller (Canada), as well as centerback Miguel Araujo (Peru).
When you look around MLS, so many teams are going to be missing key players this weekend, not just the Union. Orlando City will be missing 7 players in their game against Austin FC. Inter Miami, New York Red Bulls, NYCFC, Atlanta United, CF Montréal, and Minnesota United will all be missing 6 players each. This is the unfortunate part of playing through the FIFA International Window, that so many teams will be without key players, making the product on the field lesser quality.
Philadelphia Union manager Jim Curtin mentioned Friday in his pregame press conference that missing such crucial pieces in the midfield hurts his team, and you have to get creative when you try and replace a McGlynn, Gazdag, and Martínez, but this is a huge opportunity for other players to step in and take advantage of an opportunity given.
“I have to spin it and see the positives,” said Curtin. “We’re gonna get to learn about some other guys. In this instance, [Jeremy] Rafanello is a guy who has played great for us in training and now has done some good work in the games as well. I’ll just say he’s got a great opportunity tomorrow. He’ll be with a leader in Alejandro Bedoya in that midfield that we’re going to lean on heavily to help some inexperienced guys.”
Rafanello has played twice so far this season for the Union, once in MLS play where he got the start against Sporting KC, playing 45 minutes, and playing one minute against Saprissa in Concacaf Champions Cup. Though, Rafanello might not have the experience with the first team, he played 19 total times with Union II in MLS Next Pro last season where he was a standout player, scoring 9 goals and assisting 5 in 1477 minutes.
Jim Curtin mentioned Quinn Sullivan would also be in the midfield for the Union against Portland, but who else could the club lean on? Sure, Jim Curtin could play Jack Elliott as a number 6 like we’ve seen him do in the past, but his comments Friday where he said, “The back four that’ll be playing in this game was a group that set the goals against record a couple of years ago, so it’s not like we’re just throwing a group out there that hasn’t played played together and hasn’t had success together.” That comment alone tells me that Elliott will surely be the pairing centerback with Jakob Glesnes, while Kai Wagner and Olivier Mbaizo play as the fullbacks. The other two options in the midfield could be January signing Sanders Ngabo, who played 90 minutes this past Sunday for Union II in a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC II. Or Matt Real, who is a left back by trade, but does have experience playing in the midfield, with his last start coming against CF Montréal last June where he registered an assist in the Union’s 3-0 victory.
If Real does get the start, then you’d see a midfield of Rafanello, Sullivan, and Bedoya. Carranza and Uhre with the start up top, and a backline of Wagner, Elliott, Glesnes, Mbaizo and Semmle in net. It’s not the worst starting XI you could come up with, but where you become thin is on the bench. Jim Curtin mentioned the Union will have enough for 16 players — Fourteen outfield players, and two goalkeepers. Your bench options would look like: Chris Donovan, Markus Anderson, Olwethu Makhanya, Sanders Ngabo, and Andrew Rick (GK).
Series History Against Portland
The Union and Timbers have played a total of 12 times in league play, with Portland currently leading the series 6-3-3, with 16 goals for and 13 goals against. The last time these two teams played against each other was May, 22, 2022 at Providence Park, with the Union winning that game 2-0 thanks to goals from Dániel Gazdag and Sergio Santos.
Only two current rostered Union played have scored against Portland, with Jack Elliott and Dániel Gazdag both scoring a goal each. While only one current Timbers player has scored against the Union Dairon Asprilla.
US U23’s beat Guinea 3-0
Both Jack McGlynn and Nathan Harriel got the start for the US over Guinea as this marked the first game for the US in the March international window. Nathan Harriel scored his first goal for the US U23’s with a powerful header from a Griffin Yow cross, while Gianluca Busio and Johan Gomez added the other two for the US.
It’s been a tremendous rise the last year for the homegrown Nathan Harriel as he appeared in 39 out of the possible 51 games last year for the Union, with 28 of those coming as starts. He scored 4 goals in his 2716 minutes played last year, and earned his first cap with the U23’s last October against Mexico in a 2-1 US victory. Since that call up in October, he’s been called up every international window for the U23’s with appearances against Japan, Iraq, Morocco, and now Guinea.
Jim Curtin spoke highly of his young versatile right back on Friday and reminded the media that it took some time for Harriel to get to where he’s at today.
“Harriel is a great example of player development and not being perfect from the start,” said Curtin. “I can go back and show you hundreds of clips from his Union II (Bethlehem Steel) days or academy days where there were a lot of mistakes and a lot of days where you go man, this is gonna be hard for him because he struggled. He struggled ‘one v one’ against wide players at that level. And now you’re seeing him dominate in MLS, with youth national teams, even with the full national team getting called up. So his rise has been meteoric. It’s important now, to keep him grounded. The great thing about Nathan is, he’s a kid who is humble, is always hungry, is a great teammate, and has a willingness to learn and get better.”
There’s no hiding from the fact that if Harriel continues to impress with the Union, makes the final roster for the US Olympic’s team, and has a good showing at the tournament, that this could be the final season we see of him with the Union. Harriel isn’t the modern day fullback that is attack first. He’s always been a defense first defender, but over the last two season’s we’ve seen his ability improve in the attack with good link up play on the right side of the field. He’s now added goals to his game, and always is a treat on set-pieces because of his vertical jumping. You add in his versatility where he’s played as a left back and also centerback for the Union, that makes him a very attractive player to teams overseas where he can play in multiple different positions along that backline.
Harriel, 22, signed a contract extension last March with the Union through the 2025 season, with club options for 2026 and 2027.
At the time of signing that contract extension, Union Sporting Director Ernst Tanner had a lot of positive words to say about the young defender.
“Nathan’s commitment to developing his game has impressed us, and we are thrilled he will continue to grow and contribute here in Philadelphia,” said Philadelphia Union Sporting Director, Ernst Tanner. “His quickness and relentlessness have always been evident, and his decision making has drastically improved. Homegrown players are a pillar of our success and Nathan will continue to exemplify that going forward.”
Player availability Report:
Philadelphia Union
Leon Flach - Shoulder (Out)
Isaiah LeFlore - Knee (Out)
Holden Trent - Finger (Out)
Damion Lowe - International Duty (Out)
Andre Blake - International Duty (Out)
Jesús Bueno - International Duty (Out)
José Martínez - International Duty (Out)
Jack McGlynn - International Duty (Out)
Nathan Harriel - International Duty (Out)
Dániel Gazdag - International Duty (Out)
Tai Baribo - International Duty (Out)
Portland Timbers
Claudio Bravo – Knee (Out)
Marvin Loria – Knee (Out)
John Trey Muse – Hand (Out)
Maxime Crépeau - International Duty (Out)
Kamal Miller - International Duty (Out)
Miguel Araujo - International Duty (Out)
Where to watch
MLS Season Pass on Apple TV with kickoff set for 10:30 pm est. Saturday, March 23.
Video Credit: US Soccer