MLS Sporting Kansas City

Espinoza and Mustivar to Join National Teams

Published on March 17, 2016 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Sporting Kansas City News Release


Sporting Kansas City midfielders Roger Espinoza and Soni Mustivar will join their respective national teams next week as 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying continues in the CONCACAF region. Espinoza has been named to Honduras' 24-man roster ahead of two matches against El Salvador, while Mustivar is on Haiti's 23-man squad for two matches against Panama.

Honduras will travel to face El Salvador on March 25 before hosting the return leg on March 29 at Estadio Olympic Metropolitano in San Pedro Sula. Both games will kick off at 7 p.m. CT.

Haiti will host Panama at 6 p.m. CT on March 25 at Stade Sylvio Cator in Port-au-Prince, then visit Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City on March 29 at 7:30 p.m. CT.

Honduras (Group A) and Haiti (Group B) are seeking their first qualifying wins in the semifinal round, which consists of 12 CONCACAF nations separated into three groups. Teams square off in a home-and-away round robin format, with the top two finishers from each group advancing to the final qualifying round - often referred to as "The Hexagonal."

Espinoza, 29, has earned 47 caps for Honduras since 2009 and has competed in the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups as well as the 2012 Summer Olympics. He has scored four international goals and most recently appeared for Los Catrachos on Feb. 10 in a friendly against Guatemala.

Now in his seventh MLS season, Espinoza began his professional career in Kansas City from 2008-2012 before joining English club Wigan Athletic. He returned to Sporting KC in 2015, tallying a career-high four MLS assists, and has started in each of the club's first two wins this season. He has played 152 games for Sporting KC in all competitions, recording three goals and 17 assists.

Mustivar, 26, has made nine appearances for the Haiti Men's National Team, most recently starting in a January playoff match as Haiti defeated Trinidad and Tobago to qualify for this summer's Copa America Centenario.

In his first season at Sporting Kansas City, Mustivar received 2015 Co-Defender of the Year honors and had a 15-5-6 record as a starter in all competitions. He led MLS during the regular season with more than six interceptions per 90 minutes played and has started alongside Espinoza in Sporting KC's first two fixtures of 2016.

Sporting Kansas City has next weekend off during the FIFA international window. Espinoza and Mustivar will return to the club ahead of its home match against Real Salt Lake on April 2 at Children's Mercy Park.

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