ORLANDO, Fla. (May 4, 2015) – Orlando City midfielder Cristian Higuita has been named to Colombia’s provisional 40-man roster ahead of next month’s Copa América Centenario. This is Higuita’s first senior call-up and he is the only Major League Soccer (MLS) player named to the roster, joining the likes of James Rodriguez, Juan Cuadrado and David Ospina.
The 22-year-old previously featured for Colombia’s U17, U20 and U23 teams and was on the Colombia squad that captured the 2013 South American Youth Championship. Most recently, Higuita played with the U23s in a friendly against Honduras in February.
Higuita is the only Major League Soccer (MLS) player named to the team and one of 49 MLS players named to Copa América rosters. 10 of 16 countries, including six from CONCACAF and four from CONMEBOL, feature MLS players.
Players named to Los Cafeteros include Real Madrid midfielder James Rodríguez, Juventus midfielder Juan Cuadrado and Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina. Also included on the roster are Orlando City midfielder Cristian Higuita, Inter Milan defender Jeison Murillo, AC Milan defender Cristián Zapata, Borrusia Dortmund forward Adrián Ramos.
Higuita has been a fixture in the Orlando City lineup since its inaugural season. The Deportivo Cali (COL) product started 25 MLS matches in 2015. He averaged 4.3 tackles per game, second highest in MLS, and finished with an 87.1% pass success rate, eighth best in the league. Higuita has started five games for the Lions in 2016 and was named to MLS Team of the Week in weeks three and four.
As per the tournament regulations, the provisional rosters are binding and will serve as the basis for the final 23-man squads. Final player rosters must be submitted to the Copa América Centenario Local Organizing Committee by Friday, May 20.
Orlando will host three games in Copa América at Camping World Stadium, formerly known as the Orlando Citrus Bowl. Costa Rica will play Paraguay on June 4; Bolivia will play Panama on June 6 and Brazil will play Haiti on June 8.
