Rowdies Cristian Ortiz Called up to Dominican Republic U20 National Team
July 13, 2024 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Tampa Bay Rowdies News Release
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla - The Tampa Bay Rowdies announced today the Dominican Football Federation has called up forward Cristian Ortiz to the Dominican Republic U-20 team. Ortiz will join the squad for the U-20 CONCACAF Championship, which will be held from July 19 to August 4 in Guanajuato, Mexico.
"We are very excited for Cristian to be named to the U-20 Dominican Republic roster," said Rowdies Head Coach Robbie Neilson. "He has developed tremendously since we brought him into preseason camp, which is one of the main reasons we signed him to his first professional contract back in May. At the young age of 17, this is a great learning experience which will help him progress his professional career. On behalf of everyone at the club, we wish Cristian all the best in the upcoming tournament, and we are eager to watch his matches."
Drawn into Group B, Ortiz and the Dominican U-20s will face El Salvador on July 20, Canada on July 23, and Honduras on July 26. All three of the team's group stage matches are scheduled to take place at Estadio Sergio León Chávez in Irapuato, Mexico. Ortiz will miss the next three matches for the Rowdies and could miss more if the team advances out of the group stage.
This is Ortiz's first-ever call up to the Dominican U-20s. The 17-year-old attacker first joined the Rowdies ahead of the 2024 USL Championship season on a USL Academy contract before eventually signing a professional deal with the club on May 17. Ortiz grew up in White Plains, New York before moving to Tampa Bay with his family at a young age. He is eligible to play for the Dominican Republic National Team through his father's side of the family.
Ortiz joins a Dominican U-20s squad in search of its first CONCACAF U-20 championship. The squad finished as runners-up in the 2022 edition of the tournament, clinching a berth in the 2023 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. The top two teams from each group of this year's CONCACAF U-20 championship will move on to single-elimination play, with all four semi-finalists booking a spot in the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
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