Alvaro Fernandez called up for upcoming Uruguayan World Cup Qualifiers

Chicago Fire midfielder Alvaro Fernandez has been called up for two upcoming Uruguayan World Cup Qualifiers.The first match will take place on October 12 at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza, Argentina. The second match will take place on October 16 at Estadio Hernando Siles in La Paz, Bolivia. Fortunately the Fire's only games around these dates are on October 6 at Red Bull Arena and October 20 at Gillette Stadium. Fernandez should be able to go a full 90 versus New York on the 6th. If Fernandez sees any time in the Qualifiers, he'd likely be relegated to substitution duty against the New England Revolution. That's not ideal but these are occasional trade-offs you make when you acquire a player that is in his country's player pool.

The 26 year-old Fernandez played in four matches for Uruguay in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa but has fallen off the national team radar. It's great to see him back in the mix as it boosts the player's confidence and demonstrates that the Chicago Fire can be a club for world class talent (see the list of players and clubs here). Uruguay currently sits in the last outright qualifying spot in the CONMEBOL region.