Puerto Rico Calls Jorge Rivera Into Squad
Published on August 30, 2018 under United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Penn FC News Release
HARRISBURG, Pa. - Penn FC's Jorge Rivera has been called up by the Federación Puertorriqueña de Fútbol (FBF) to join the Puerto Rico Men's National Team for the upcoming international window.
"I am very proud and happy to represent my country, and to be back with my people," Rivera said through a translator on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old has 11 caps for the senior team and made his debut in 2015. He scored his first (and only) international goal against Anguilla in 2016 match against Anguilla in a Caribbean Cup qualifier.
"There are only a few moments I have had with the national team but if I had to pick one (favorite) I would say my debut," he said, "because that is when I started to feel a part of the national team of Puerto Rico."
Rivera, a midfielder from San Juan, has made seven appearances across all competitions so far in 2018 for Rush Soccer's First Team. He's played in six USL matches with three starts and he started in Penn FC's U.S. Open Cup third round match in Richmond. In that match, Rivera scored twice before being subbed off in the 81st minute.
Puerto Rico will play its first official match of CONCACAF'S Nations League Qualifiers on Sunday Sept. 9., against Saint Kitts and Nevis at Warner Park.
The Nations League is a new competition staged by CONCACAF beginning with the qualification phase that starts in September and runs through March of 2019.
The qualification process will determine which league (A, B or C) each team will compete in for the group stage of the tournament which will run from September to November of 2019. Of CONCACAF's 41 teams, 34 are participating in the qualification process. The six teams that participated the last Hexagonal for World Cup qualification were automatically placed into the top league. Guatemala did not enter the competition.
The qualification process will also determine the 10 teams that will joins the six (Mexico, USA, Costa Rica, Panama, Hondura and Trinidad and Tobago) in the 2019 Gold Cup.
"The team's goal is to qualify for the Gold Cup," Rivera said. "And I know it is a long process, but I believe we have great potential and I believe we can do it and if we do it will be a great achievement for the national team."
The Puerto Rican national team will travel to the Dominican Republic on Sept. 2, to begin training for the upcoming match.
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