VANCOUVER, BC - Vancouver Whitecaps FC defender Kendall Waston, midfielder Christian Bolaños, and strikers Giles Barnes and Blas Pérez have been called up to their respective national teams for the fourth round of 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying.
Group B of the qualifying tournament resumes play on September 2 when Pérez and Panama host Barnes and Jamaica, while Waston, Bolaños and the Costa Ricans visit Haiti. Four days later, Panama are on the road versus Costa Rica, while Haiti travels to Jamaica.
The four 'Caps players will miss Vancouver's match against New York Red Bulls at BC Place on Saturday, September 3.
GROUP B STANDINGS
1. Costa Rica (3W-0L-1D): 10 points
2. Panama (2W-1L-1D): 7 points
3. Jamaica (1W-2L-1D): 4 points
4. Haiti (0W-3L-1D): 1 point
The top two teams from each group will advance to the fifth round of World Cup qualifying for the CONCACAF region, also known as "The Hex."
Waston has 11 senior international caps for Costa Rica, most recently starting in two matches in the Copa América Centenario. The centre back, who has one goal for Costa Rica, also started both of Los Ticos' matches earlier in the current round of World Cup Qualifying versus Jamaica in March.
Bolaños also featured for Costa Rica in the home-and-away series against the Jamaicans, as well as all three outings in the Copa América Centenario. The San José native has made 66 appearances wearing Costa Rica's colours, including the 2006 and 2014 FIFA World Cup tournaments.
Barnes, who joined Whitecaps FC in July, has three goals in 18 appearances with Jamaica to date, having represented them at the 2015 Copa América, 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup - where they reached the final - and the recent Copa América Centenario.
Pérez holds the third-most senior international caps for Panama with 102 appearances and is Panama’s second all-time leading scorer with 41 goals in his career, with the last two coming in June 6 where he provided the scoring in the 2-1 win over Bolivia at the Copa América Centenario.
Whitecaps FC are back in MLS action on Saturday when they visit LA Galaxy at StubHub Center. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m. Watch the match live on TSN1.
Be a part of the best sporting atmosphere in Vancouver! Whitecaps FC offer a flexible range of ticket products, including Half-Season Packs, 5-Packs, a Youth Soccer Half-Season Ticket, and single match tickets. For more information, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
