Carlos Carmona called up to Chilean national squad for World Cup qualifying

Atlanta United midfielder Carlos Carmona has been called into service by the Chilean men’s national soccer team. Carmona will join the squad for their World Cup qualifying matches between Argentina on March 23 and Atlanta teammate Josef Martinez’s Venezuela side on March 28.

Chile currently sits with 20 points in the CONMEBOL standings with a 6-2-4 record. They are tied with Ecuador in points, but lose the tiebreaker in goal differential and as a result sit in fourth. Argentina is a point behind with 19. The top four teams automatically qualify for the World Cup in Russia next year; the fifth-place team advances to a playoff with the OFC first-place team in November, with the winner gaining one of the final two World Cup slots.

Carmona has recorded 50 appearances with Chile’s senior national team since 2008. He started three matches in the 2010 World Cup against Honduras, Switzerland and Brazil while only seeing one appearance as a late-game substitute in their win over Spain in the 2014 World Cup against Spain.

Carmona joins Martinez and Miguel Almiron as United players to get the call-up to international duty. Almiron will join Paraguay in their CONMEBOL qualifiers against Brazil and Ecuador, while Martinez, as mentioned, will be with the Venezuelan team when they face Peru and Chile.