It's no surprise that one of the most successful franchises in Major League Soccer, has also had success putting players on their respective national teams. Brian Ching, Ricardo Clark and Stuart Holden were all staples of the U.S. men's national team as it advanced through the previous World Cup qualifying tournament and into the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
This year is no different. On Wednesday, the final round of CONCACAF's World Cup qualifying tournament kicks off and four Dynamo players will represent three teams. Brad Davis was named to the U.S. roster, Boniek Garcia will suit up for Honduras and Jermaine Taylor and Je-Vaughn Watson will head to Estadio Azteca for Jamaica's match against Mexico.
If Davis and Garcia both see time in Wednesday's match, it will not be the first time that Dynamo players (or former Dynamo players) have lined up against each other on the national scene. Here are some of the previous matchups and how each player fared:
- In 2006, the United States, featuring Brian Ching, and Canada, featuring former Dynamo players Dwayne De Rosario and Adrian Serioux, squared off in a friendly in San Diego, Calif. All three players started, but none were able to find the scoresheet as the game ended scoreless.
- There was lots of orange at the 2007 Gold Cup, as Brian Ching and Ricard Clark (USA) took on Dwayne De Rosario and Pat Onstad (Canada) in the semifinal round of the biennial tournament. Ching did not feature in the match and Clark came on in the second as a sub. Both Onstad and De Rosario started and picked up yellow cards as the United States won 2-1, before defeated Mexico 2-1 to win the tournament.
- In the 2011 Gold Cup, a Honduran team featuring former Dynamo forward Carlo Costly and current Dynamo midfielder Boniek Garcia lost 1-0 to a Jamaican squad featuring Dynamo defender Jermaine Taylor and midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson. The Jamaicans won their group but lost to the United States in the quarterfinals. Honduras advanced to the semifinals before losing 2-0 to eventual champion Mexico.
- 0-0 appears to be a familiar scoreline for U.S. / Canada matches as the two squads played to a scoreless tie on June 3, 2012 in Toronto. Former Dynamo defender Geoff Cameron was on the bench for the United States but did not feature. Former Dynamo defender Andre Hainault started and played 90 minutes in the match.
- In front of a raucous crowd, a Jamaican squad with Jermaine Taylor and Je-Vaughn Watson defeated a U.S. squad with former Dynamo defender Geoff Cameron in a World cup qualifying match in Kingston on Sept. 7, 2012.
- The United States returned the favor four days later when Cameron's U.S. squad defeated Taylor and Watson's Jamaican squad 1-0 at Columbus Crew Stadium. Cameron and Taylor played full time in both matches. Watson played 90 minutes in the first match and 75 in the second.
