Union goalkeeper Andre Blake gets Jamaica callup for Peru friendly on June 13
Add Andre Blake to the list of Union players joining their respective national teams for games over the next week and a half.
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Updated June 7: Not surprisingly, Andre Blake is on Jamaica's 40-man preliminary roster for the Gold Cup. So is Bethlehem Steel's Cory Burke.
Updated June 6: The Jamaican federation confirmed to the Inquirer that Blake is only being called in for the Peru game, not the Caribbean Cup.
Add Andre Blake to the list of Union players joining their respective national teams for games over the next week and a half.
Blake has been called up to Jamaica's squad for a June 13 friendly against Peru in Lima. As of now, there isn't going to be any broadcast of the game in the United States.
This game will serve as a warm-up for the Caribbean Cup, which will be played June 22 and 25 in Fort-de-France, Martinique. Jamaica will face French Guiana in the semifinals on June 22, and the winner will
Blake's call-up is just for the Peru game, not the Caribbean Cup. Of course, just when you thought there wasn't going to be any intrigue, here's some: Reggae Boyz head coach Theodore Whitmore said in mid-May that he was going to call up only domestic-based players. He kept his word for the roster for a training camp that ran from May 29 to June 1. But it appears that when it comes to the game in Peru, Whitmore changed his mind.
It might not be the worst thing, since the game will be during the FIFA international window and the last high-profile contest for Jamaica before July's Gold Cup.
(And you don't have to be a wonk about Caribbean soccer to know that Peru is a better team than any of the Caribbean Cup opponents, by some distance.)
As of this writing, there is no official roster announcement on the Jamaican federation's website. So we don't know who else from MLS got summoned.
Will Blake get called up for the Caribbean Cup, too? The Union have a home game against D.C. United on June 24, right in the middle of the tournament. It looks as if we'll have to wait until the rosters are made official to know.
It's worth noting, though, that the Caribbean Cup is not on FIFA's official calendar of tournaments for which clubs are required to release players. So even if the Jamaican federation requests Blake's services, the Union could politely decline.