CHICAGO (Sept. 6, 2023) – Chicago Fire FC today announced that four Chicago Fire FC players and one Chicago Fire FC II player were called by their respective national teams to represent their country at various age levels. Midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri and defender Miguel Navarro joined the Switzerland Men’s National Team and Venezuela Men’s National Team, respectively. Midfielder Jairo Torres joined the Mexico U-23 Men’s National Team and forward Georgios Koutsias traveled to join the Greece U-21 Men’s National Team. Additionally, Chicago Fire II forward Omari Glasgow will be with the Guyana National Team during the international break.
Shaqiri has been called to the Switzerland Men’s National Team for Matchday 5 and 6 of the EURO 2024 qualifiers. In their first match of the window, Switzerland will face Kosovo on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 1:45 p.m. CT at the Pristina City Stadium in Pristina, Kosovo. Just three days later, La Nati will face Andorra on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 1:45 p.m. CT at the Stade de Tourbillon in Sion, Switzerland to conclude qualifying play for this break. As it stands, Switzerland leads the Group I leaderboard with a record of 3-0-1 and 10 points, sitting above Romania who has eight points.
Navarro joins Venezuela as South America kicks off qualifying for the FIFA World Cup that will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026. Venezuela will travel to face Colombia in the team’s first qualifier, with kickoff slated for 6 p.m. CT on Thursday, Sept. 7, at the Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez in Barranquilla. The Vinotinto will then host Paraguay at 5 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at the Estadio Monumental in Maturin, Venezuela.
Torres was called to the Mexico U-23 Men’s National Team by newly appointed head coach Ricardo Cadena for two friendly matches against the Colombia U-23 team. The two sides will square off for the first time at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 9 at the Estadio Tlahuicole in Tlaxcala, Mexico. The second match of the series will take place at 11 a.m. CT on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at the Mexican Federation’s Centro de Alto Rendimiento in Mexico City.
The Greece U-21 Men’s National Team continues UEFA U-21 Championship qualifying. Greece was placed into Group G with Andorra, Belarus, the Faroe Islands, Portugal and Croatia. Koutsias joins Greece for a match against Andorra at 12 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at the Estadio Nacional in Andorra la Vella, Andorra.
On the MLS NEXT Pro side, Glasgow was called to the Guyana National Team for upcoming Concacaf Nations Leagues matches in September. Guyana was sorted into Group D of League B of the Concacaf Nations League along with Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas and Puerto Rico. The Golden Jaguars will face Antigua and Barbuda at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 9, at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua. Guyana will then host Bahamas at 5 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Sept. 12 at the Synthetic Track and Field Facility in Leonora.
