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Jose Martinez’s dream to represent his country will be put on hold.
The Philadelphia Union midfielder confirmed via Twitter on Monday that he will not be joining the Venezuela national team for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers on Oct. 9 and 13.
Desde pequeño siempre he tenido la ilusión de poder jugar con la @SeleVinotinto. Esta vez no se pudo. Seguiré trabajando de la mejor manera para decir presente.
— José Andrés Martínez ♂️ (@JoseAndresMT8) October 5, 2020
Agradecido por los comentarios positivos y deseo bendiciones a mis compañeros. Todo un país los apoya. #ElBrujo pic.twitter.com/zxofeRmsg9
Martinez’s agency sent a tweet on Sunday saying that the 27-year-old was not released by the Union.
Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin said discussions about whether to release Martinez for the qualifiers had gone back and forth “probably 25 times” when asked about his status after Saturday night’s loss to Toronto FC in Connecticut.
Curtin previously said there was a lot to consider in terms of required quarantines for him returning to the team and whether or not he would get playing time in the two games. Given the congested schedule, Curtin said Martinez leaving for international duty could potentially mean him missing as many as five games.