PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers today announced that midfielder James Marcelin (Haiti) and defenders Steve Purdy (El Salvador) and Rodney Wallace (Costa Rica) have been called up by their respective national teams in order to participate in international matches scheduled from Sept. 2-6.
In preparation for their upcoming international matches, Marcelin will join the Haiti National Team over the weekend, Purdy is scheduled to arrive in El Salvador on Monday and Wallace will meet up with Costa Rica on Wednesday in California. All three players are expected to rejoin the Timbers in time for the club’s next regular-season match on Sept. 10 against the Philadelphia Union.
A member of the Haiti National Team since 2007, Marcelin, 25, has been recalled for 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against the U.S. Virgin Islands on Friday, Sept. 2, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and against Curacao on Tuesday, Sept. 6, in Willemstad, Curacao. From Saint-Marc, Haiti, Marcelin last played for Haiti in a friendly against Argentina on May 5, 2010. He’s represented his country at both the youth and senior levels and played in both the 2007 and 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cups.
Purdy, 26, receives his second call-up with the El Salvador National Team this year after participating in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Purdy and El Salvador will play host to the Dominican Republic on Sept. 2 in San Salvador before traveling to face the Cayman Islands on Sept. 6 in World Cup qualifiers. Purdy, who has family ties to El Salvador, earned his first senior cap in the Gold Cup quarterfinals against Panama on June 19. He was a member of the U.S. National Team youth system at the U-18, U-20 and U-23 levels.
Born in San Jose, Costa Rica, Wallace earns his first call-up with the Costa Rica National Team for a pair of upcoming friendly matches against the United States and Ecuador. On Sept. 2, Costa Rica faces the United States at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., at 8 p.m. (PT) in a match televised on ESPN2 and Galavision. The team will then head to Quito, Ecuador, to face the Ecuador National Team on Sept. 6. Wallace, 23, will make his first international appearance at any level when he debuts for Costa Rica.
