Saturday April 27th, 2024 7:36AM

Six Atlanta United players get national team call-ups

By Jeff Hart Sports Reporter

ATLANTA — Luis Abram, Thiago Almada, Jay Fortune, Giorgos Giakoumakis, Bartosz Slisz and Caleb Wiley have each received call-ups from their respective national teams for the March 18-26 FIFA window.

Abram will join Peru for a pair of home friendlies against Nicaragua on March 22 and Dominican Republic on March 26. The defender has 39 caps for Peru at the international level, including 15 matches in World Cup qualification and eight Copa America appearances, making his senior national team debut in a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago on May 24, 2016.

Almada was called-up to Argentina’s U-23 side by manager Javier Mascherano for a pair of matches against Mexico’s U-23s on March 22 and 25. The 22-year-old has four appearances with the Argentine Senior National Team and was part of the squad that won the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He scored his first senior international goal in a friendly against Panama on March 23, 2023. He’s made 15 appearances with Argentina’s U-23s and scored seven goals. Almada recently captained the side during the 2024 South American Olympic Qualifying tournament where he helped lead Argentina to an Olympic berth and was the tournament’s joint top-scorer with five goals while adding two assists in seven matches. The midfielder also represented Argentina at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo where he made two appearances and had one assist.

Fortune was called up by Trinidad and Tobago for a Concacaf Nations League playoff match against Canada on March 23 with the winner advancing to the Nations League final. The 21-year-old midfielder made his senior national team debut on Feb. 1, 2021 against the USMNT. He's made six appearances with the senior national team and scored his first international goal at the 2023 Gold Cup in a 3-0 win against St. Kitts and Nevis on June 25. He also made four appearances for Trinidad & Tobago U-17s.

Giakoumakis joins Greece for a playoff semifinal match in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying against Kazakhstan in Athens, Greece on March 21. The winner will face the winner of Georgia and Luxembourg on March 26 to play for a spot in UEFA Euro 2024. The 29-year-old forward has represented Greece at both the U-21 and senior level. He’s made 20 appearances with the senior team and scored four goals for his country. He scored on his international debut on Nov. 11, 2020 in a friendly against Cyprus.

Slisz, 24, joins Poland as it also attempts to qualify for UEFA Euro 2024 and hosts Estonia in Warsaw, Poland in a semifinal qualifying match. The winner will face the winner of Wales and Finland on March 26 to play for a berth in UEFA Euro 2024. Slisz has made six appearances for the Polish National Team, making his debut in a World Cup Qualifying match against San Marino on Sept. 5, 2021. He also represented Poland at the U-18, U-20 and U-21 levels with a total of 28 appearances.

Wiley joins the U.S. U-23 squad for two friendlies against Guinea on March 22 in Olot, Spain and against France on March 25 in Montbeliard, France as the team continues its preparations for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The 19-year-old defender, has two caps for the USMNT, making his debut on April 19, 2023 as a substitute in the inaugural Allstate Continental Clásico against Mexico. He has made two appearances with the U.S. U-23s, 10 appearances with the U.S. U-20s and three appearances with the U.S. U-17s.

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