Riqui Puig joins MLS All-Stars to face Arsenal

Atlanta United's Thiago Almada, Houston Dynamo's Hector Herrera and LA Galaxy's Riqui Puig are among the players selected for the MLS All Star Game, which will be played on July 19th in Washington.

Argentina leads the Latin squad of the MLS 'All Star' - a clash between the best players of the American league and Premier League team Arsenal - with four players; in addition to Almada, Luciano Acosta and Alvaro Barreal, from Cincinnati, and Christian Espinoza, from San Jose Earthquakes will feature.

Mexico will be represented by Hector Herrera, Austin's leader and former Porto and Atletico Madrid player. The only Spanish player selected was LA Galaxy midfielder and former Barcelona player Riqui Puig, one of the most beloved players in MLS despite the L.A. side's lackluster performance this season.

The players were selected through a combination of fan, player and media votes (12 players), nominations by All-Star technical director Wayne Rooney of host club D.C. United (12 players) and 2 selections by MLS Commissioner Don Garber.

The players represent 15 different countries, with the United States having the most players with 9.

In total, 18 clubs are represented in this year's All-Star Game squad: Atlanta United, Austin FC, FC Cincinnati, Chicago Fire FC, Columbus Crew, DC United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo FC, LA Galaxy, LAFC, CF Montreal, Nashville SC, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders FC and St. Louis City SC.

Here's the full squad for the MLS All-Star:

Goalkeepers:  Roman Burki (St. Louis City SC / voted), Tyler Miller (D.C. United / coach's selection), Djordje Petrovi (New England Revolution / coach's selection).

Defenders: Alvaro Barreal (FC Cincinnati / voted), Jon Gallagher (Austin FC / voted), Ryan Hollingshead (LAFC / coach's selection), Matt Miazga (FC Cincinnati / voted), Tim Parker (St. Louis City SC / coach's selection), John Tolkin (New York Red Bulls / coach's selection), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC / voted).

Midfielders: Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnati / voted), Thiago Almada (Atlanta United/ voted), Mathieu Choiniere (CF Montreal / commissioner's selection), Hector Herrera (Houston Dynamo FC / coach's selection), Jose Martinez (Philadelphia Union / coach's selection), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew / voted), Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC / voted), Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy / coach's selection), Lucas Zelarayan (Columbus Crew / coach's selection).

Forwards: Christian Benteke (D.C. United / coach's selection), Denis Bouanga (LAFC / voted), Cristian Espinoza (San Jose Earthquakes / coach's selection), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas / voted), Giorgos Giakoumakis (Atlanta United / coach's selection), Kei Kamara (Chicago Fire FC / commisioner's selection), Jordan Morris (Seattle Sounders FC / voted).

 

June 27, 2023