The next goal that FC Dallas forward Carlos Ruiz scores for the Guatemalan national team will be the 36th of his international career. That landmark tally will make him the leading scorer in the history of his country's national team. Ruiz scored the goal which tied him with Juan Carlos Plata on June 12 against Trinidad and Tobago in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
His latest chance to break the record comes on Wednesday when Guatemala faces Panama in an international friendly in Panama and Ruiz is excited to say the least.
"We will be playing one of the best national teams in Central America right now," he said. "I think it will be good for us because they have all their players and it will be a good match for us."
Ruiz played all 90 minutes for FCD in a 1-0 loss at Houston on Sunday but the Hoops don't hit the field again until Sept. 1 when D.C. United comes to Pizza Hut Park. This break made it much easier for FCD head coach Steve Morrow to release Ruiz for the game.
"It's always an honor for Carlos (Ruiz) and it's great that he's still involved in the national team," Morrow said. "It comes at a decent time for us because we don't have a game that weekend. We certainly feel better about players going to national team duty when it doesn't affect us too much. He always enjoys being with the national team, so it's a big honor for him."
The FCD captain agreed. "That's why I don't have any problem going to play for my national team in this friendly game," Ruiz said. "Playing for FC Dallas is the most important thing for me, but since we don't have a game next week, I can go play for my national team."
Even though Guatemala doesn't have the history of a fierce rivalry with Panama that Costa Rica does, Ruiz feels that Wednesday's match will be a great measuring stick to see how far Guatemala has come this year.
"There's more history between Costa Rica and Guatemala," Ruiz admitted. "But Panama has had a good national team the last few years and has qualified for the Gold Cup. I think this will be a good test for us to see if the Guatemalan national team is going in a good direction."
In 2007, Ruiz has four goals and two assists for the Hoops. The Guatemalan international has played in 16 of FCD's 19 games with 14 of those being starts. Earlier in the year, he was plagued by a hamstring injury and was did not start in a May game at Kansas City after missing practice.
But Ruiz has put any issues he had earlier in the year behind him and of late, has come into form. He has goals in two of FCD's last four games and also netted two goals in the Hoops' three matches last month in SuperLiga. Earlier this year he passed the 100-goal mark in Major League Soccer in all competitions, and now he's ready to achieve a similar height for his country.
"It's going to be very exciting when I score No. 36 because I'm going to be the all-time leading scorer in Guatemalan history," Ruiz said. "I'm waiting for that moment."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
