Chattanooga Red Wolves defender Nicolas Cardona and goalkeeper Ricardo Jérez have been called up to international duty for Puerto Rico and Guatemala, respectively, for the Concacaf Gold Cup. The tournament, which features teams like the US Men’s National Team and Mexican National Team runs Friday, June 16th through Sunday, July 16th. The preliminary rounds will be played in Fort Lauderdale, Florida played June 16-20th in two direct elimination rounds.
Cardona & Puerto Rico will play Suriname on Saturday, June 17th at 7:00 p.m./ET at DRV PNK Stadium in the preliminary rounds. Jerez & Guatemala begin play on Tuesday, June 27th in the Group Stage against Cuba at 8:45 p.m./ET. At DRV PNK Stadium before facing Canada on Saturday, July 1st at Shell Energy Stadium (Houston, TX) at 9:30 p.m./ET and a to-be-determined opponent on Tuesday, July 4th at Red Bull Arena (Harrison, NJ).
Cardona previously appeared for and captained the Puerto Rico National Team in 2022 for the Concacaf Nations League, the first Red Wolves player to do so.
Jérez was called up to Guatemalan national team prior to the start of the 2023 USL League One season for the Concacaf Nations League. The Guatemalan team defeated Belize, 2-1 and French Guiana, 4-0 to qualify for the Gold Cup and secure the first place spot in Group D.
“We have worked very hard as a Club to bring in the top talent available,” said Red Wolves president and GM Sean McDaniel. “Nico and Ricardo both demonstrate the high standards of the Red Wolves by consistently being called into national team duty. We are very proud of Nico and Ricardo and love that they’re representing the Chattanooga Red Wolves on the international stage during the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup.”
