Sporting Kansas City midfielder Oriol Rosell made his international debut Monday, coming on as a second-half substitute in Catalonia’s 4-1 defeat of Cape Verde in a friendly at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona.
Rosell entered the match in front of his hometown fans in the 68th minute for Real Valladolid's Marc Valiente. The 21-year-old-formerly plied his trade in the FC Barcelona youth academy before coming to SKC in 2012.
It was Rosell’s first call-up to the Catalonian national team, which is not affiliated with FIFA or UEFA but regularly includes some of Spain’s top international players. Monday's match featured some of the world's best, including FC Barcelona's Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Cesc Fàbregas and Gerard Piqué.
Cape Verde jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 10th minute on a Jorge Djaniny goal before Catalonia scored three goals in the following six minutes.
Espanyol's Sergio García scored twice and Ajax's Bojan Krkic tallied once as the home side grabbed a 3-1 lead before halftime. Osasuna striker Oriol Riera scored the final goal in Monday's 4-1 win.
