Diego Fagundez Named To Uruguay U-20 YNT

Sometimes what is good for MLS is not always good for US Soccer. While the two organizations will often have mutually beneficial goals, they are not always in sync. On Monday, this rift once again appeared as Diego Fagundez, the young New England Revolution forward, accepted the call-up to play for Uruguay at the 2015 U-20 South American Youth Championship.

For Fagundez, this is obviously a tremendous honor and a great opportunity to build his career. The 20 year old has already had an amazing career with the New England Revolution, scoring 22 goals and making 88 appearances with the team. The first-ever Homegrown Player of the New England Revolution, he was one of the first players to take part in the club’s youth revolution, which inevitably led them to the 2014 MLS Cup.

But his national ties have always been a question. The son of Washington Fernandez, the former goalkeeper at Uruguayan side Central Espanol, and the godson of Diego Dorta, who won the 1996 Copa America with Uruguay, Fagundez has always been on the radar of the Uruguayan FA. He has made a handful of appearances with the Uruguayan U-20 side over the past 3 years.

However his family moved to the United States when he was 5 years old and currently holds a green card which left the option open that he might be able to gain citizenship. But unlike Gedion Zelalem, who recently gained his citizenship through his father, Fagundez never started the lengthy process towards US Citizenship.

Playing with Uruguay at the U-20 Championships will cap-tie him to the South American nation.

For MLS, having Fagundez play for one of the top sides in South America is obviously a remarkable achievement. Uruguay will be hosting this year’s tournament, which kicks off on January the 14th.

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If Fagundez is looking for competition then he will certainly receive it in this tournament. The South American Youth Championship is a ten team tournament that encompasses every South American country. The ten teams are split into two groups with the top three sides making it to a final group stage. The top three teams at the end of the final stage will qualify for the 2015 U-20 World Cup in New Zealand. The winner of the South American U-20 Championship will also qualify for the 2016 Olympics.

This is a very important time for Uruguayan football. After their fourth place finish at the 2010 World Cup and their victory at the 2011 Copa America, Uruguay has aged a bit at the senior level. They only narrowly qualified for World Cup 2014 out of South America and just squeaked into the Round of 16 in Brazil.

Uruguay’s task of winning their first U-20 championship since 1981 will be quite difficult. They were drawn into Group B where they will face Brazil (11-time winners,) Chile, Colombia (the defending champions,) and Venezuela.

South American football associations often use youth championships as a means of preparing their national team sides for World Cup Qualifying and the Copa America. With the 2015 and 2016 Copa Americas coming up, as well as the 2016 Olympics and the 2018 World Cup this is a very important tournament for Uruguay. Helping his national team claim glory at home would go a long way towards making Fagundez a more permanent fixture on national team sides.

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Author’s Note: In addition to Fagundez, New York Red Bulls Youth Academy Goalkeeper Santiago Constanzo will be representing Colombia at the South American U-20 Championship.