CARSON, Calif. --
LA Galaxy forwards Landon Donovan and Carlos Ruiz will not be available for selection in this weekend's game against the San Jose Earthquakes after being called in to the United States and Guatemala National Teams, respectively. Donovan will be with the U.S. for their game against Barbados at The Home Depot Center on Sunday, while Ruiz will be with Guatemala when they take on St. Lucia in Guatemala City on Saturday.
Donovan, who currently leads the Galaxy with nine goals and six assists on the season, last appeared for the U.S. in Sunday's 0-0 draw with Argentina at Giants Stadium. Donovan captained the Red, White and Blue in that game as he earned his 100th cap, becoming the fourth youngest player ever to earn 100 caps and the 11th player in U.S. National Team history to reach that milestone. The 26-year-old has appeared in 20 World Cup qualifiers since making his National Team debut in 2000, scoring seven goals.
Ruiz has appeared 73 times for Guatemala, scoring 35 goals to make him the co-all-time leading scorer, along with former Guatemalan international Juan Carlos Plata. He played his first game with the National Team in nearly a year last week when he started and played the full 90 minutes in Guatemala's 2-0 loss to Chile in South America. A former National Team captain, Ruiz was the third leading scorer in CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying ahead of the 2006 World Cup, scoring nine goals as Guatemala narrowly missed out on reaching the World Cup for the first time in their history.
The second round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying will be played in a home-and-away format over two legs. The U.S. will open their series against Barbados on Sunday, June 15 at 2 p.m. (PT) at The Home Depot Center with the return leg being held in Barbados on Sunday, June 22. Guatemala will host the opening leg of their series against St. Lucia on Saturday, June 14 in Guatemala City with the return leg being played at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles on Saturday, June 21.
Rosters for each of these games will be announced next week.
The rest of the Galaxy, minus Donovan and Ruiz are back in action on Saturday, June 14 when they travel north to take on the San Jose Earthquakes at McAfee Coliseum in Oakland. This game will begin at 7 p.m. and can be seen live on Fox Soccer Channel. The Galaxy are back home a week later on Saturday, June 21 when they host former Galaxy head coach Sigi Schmid and the Columbus Crew at 7:30 p.m. at The Home Depot Center. For more information about this game or to order tickers, please visit www.lagalaxy.com or call 877-3GALAXY.
