Colorado Rapids forwards Diego Rubio and Darren Yapi earned call-ups from their respective home countries' national teams this week in preparation for the upcoming FIFA window.
Rubio was named to the Chilean national team's 20-man roster in advance of their upcoming friendly with Paraguay. Due to recovery from an arthroscopic surgery the striker underwent last month, Rubio has yet to make an MLS appearance in 2023. The Chilean inked his name on the Rapids' record books in 2022 after matching the Rapids’ all-time, single-season scoring record (16 goals) and setting a new record for most goal contributions all-time (16 goals, 7 assists).
Rubio and La Roja will take on Paraguay on March 27.
After training with the U.S. U-19 Men’s Youth National Team in January, Yapi's call-up to the U.S. U-20 Men’s Youth National Team is his first with the group since preparation for this summer’s FIFA U-20 World Cup kicked off in 2021. Yapi and the rest of the 19-man roster named by head coach Mikey Varas will face France, England and Serbia U-21 in this final training camp before the international tournament.
The Homegrown currently leads the Rapids' offensive stat sheet with six shots in three games played, all of which he started. This is not the young striker's first international call-up, as he first made his international debut with the U.S. U-17 youth national team during the UEFA Development Tournament in February 2020, featuring in all three of the United States’ matches during the competition, before training with the U-19 side prior to the Rapids' 2023 preseason in January.
