Breaking Down the Philadelphia Union's International Window Absences

The Union once again have to deal with international absences for a league game on Saturday.

Welcome to everyone’s favorite time of the year!

Major League Soccer playing through an international window!

The Philadelphia Union have a total of seven departures from the first team, and that means for the first time this season, Bradley Carnell will change his starting XI.

Andre Blake (Jamaica)

March 21: vs. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

March 25: vs. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Jamaica is involved in qualification for the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup.

The Reggae Boyz should easily qualify through a pair of matches with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. They play away on Friday and at home on Tuesday.

Daniel Gazdag (Hungary)

March 20: vs. Turkiye

March 23: vs. Turkiye

Daniel Gazdag and Hungary play in the UEFA Nations League relegation play-off against Turkiye. The first leg is in Istanbul on Thursday and the second leg is three days later in Budapest.

Hungary finished third in Group 3 of UEFA Nations League A, which features the best teams on the continent. It needs to win the series with Turkiye to stay in League A, a defeat in the series drops it down to League B.

Jesus Bueno (Venezuela)

March 20: vs. Ecuador

March 25: vs. Peru

Venezuela’s 13th and 14th matches of CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying take place during the March window.

Jesus Bueno and the Vinotinto visit Ecuador and then host Peru. Venezuela is currently eighth with 12 points from 12 matches. The top six in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying automatically advance to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while the seventh-best team heads to an intercontinental playoff.

Venezuela is one point back of Bolivia for seventh and five points adrift of Paraguay. Former Union midfielder Jose Martinez is also in the Venezuela squad.

Danley Jean Jacques (Haiti)

March 22: vs. Azerbaijan

I’m sure it’s very easy to get from Philadelphia to Baku.

Haiti plays Azerbaijan in a friendly on Saturday.

It is Haiti’s last game on the schedule before it continues Concacaf World Cup qualification in June.

Former Union midfielder Fafa Picault is also included in Haiti’s squad for the friendly match.

Tai Baribo (Israel)

March 22: vs. Estonia

March 25: vs. Norway

Tai Baribo and Israel begin UEFA World Cup qualification on Saturday in a “home” game against Estonia.

Both March games are “home” games for Israel, but they will be played in Debrecen, Hungary.

Israel is grouped with Estonia, Norway, Moldova and the loser of the Germany-Italy UEFA Nations League quarterfinal in Group I. The winner of the group automatically qualifies for the 2026 World Cup, while the runner-up heads to a playoff. The playoff is probably the goal for Israel since Germany or Italy will be the group favorite.

Frankie Westfield (US U-20s)

The U.S. U-20 squad is in Spain for a training camp that lasts until March 25. The Americans will play Mexico and Spain while overseas.

Neil Pierre (US U-18s)

The U.S. U-18 squad is also in Spain for a training camp. Neil Pierre and Co. are scheduled to face Morocco and Norway in friendlies while in Marbella.

Kellan LeBlanc (Union II, US U-17s)

Kellan LeBlanc is in Costa Rica with the U.S. U-17 squad for a training camp that features two friendly matches versus Costa Rica.

What It Means for the Union

The biggest departure is Blake in goal.

Andrew Rick is the presumed starter against St. Louis City. He was the backup goalkeeper for the first three games and did not make the bench on Sunday so that he could play for Union II on Monday.

Rick won the backup goalkeeper job over Oliver Semmle out of preseason and he’ll get the first shot to impress in a role that has not been filled admirably by many players over the past few years.

Danley and his backup, Bueno, are away from the team, so some adjustments are needed in midfield next to Jovan Lukic.

Alejandro Bedoya will probably get a spot start because of how the rest of the midfield and forward lineup has to be re-arranged.

Indiana Vassilev or Cavan Sullivan will slot into the second playmaker role next to Quinn Sullivan.

It’s possible that Carnell could play Vassilev in a deeper role and have Cavan Sullivan play next to his brother and have Bedoya come off the bench, but Bedoya seems more suited for a holding role. C.J. Olney is another possible starter in the central midfield role.

While it would be great to see Cavan Sullivan start, maybe Carnell keeps him on the bench as the top attacking option. That would put Bedoya and Vassilev in the XI.

Bruno Damiani will start at forward next to Mikael Uhre, and if you take Cavan Sullivan off the bench, you’re stuck with Chris Donovan, Jeremy Rafanello and potentially one of the younger forwards on the bench.

And there’s the problem at center back, where Olwethu Makhanya was sent off late against Nashville. Ian Glavinovich has been working his way back to full strength after a groin injury.

The Union only have two senior center-backs available (Glesnes and Glavinovich) due to Makhanya’s red and Neil Pierre’s leave for international duty. Nathan Harriel should be the No. 3 center back for Saturday, if he’s needed in a pinch.

Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union.