Atlanta United had an extraordinary run in August by lifting two trophies and accumulating four MLS wins and a single MLS loss. Now, Atlanta United is in the middle of a two-week break that will allow the team to recharge for a busy remainder of the month.
Many players have said on 92.9 The Game that the players simply ran out of gas during the Philadelphia match, resulting in a 3-1 loss for the Five Stripes. There were signs that the team was fatigued during the U.S. Open Cup after Atlanta barely hung onto a 2-1 lead for the final 20 matches.
Brad Guzan and Miles Robinson have been away with the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) as they’ve been preparing to take on Mexico and Honduras. Robinson is with the senior USMNT for the first time in his career and many fans across the country have been waiting for him to make a USMNT appearance.
Mid-season signing Justin Meram is currently with Iraq for World Cup qualifying. Meram is having a career comeback season playing as a left wingback, an entirely new position for the new Atlanta fan favorite.
One of Atlanta’s most promising youth academy products, George Bello, was called into the U.S. U-17 national team for matches in Holland. Bello has only made one appearance for Atlanta United this season in the first game of the Concacaf Champions League.
Ezequiel Barco was initially supposed to join up with the Argentina U-23 camp for the first time in his career, but he ended up picking up an unspecified “muscle injury” before the Philadelphia loss according to Dirty South Soccer.
After the international break, Atlanta will be back to a three-game a week schedule for the remainder of the month. Atlanta is currently in third place in the Eastern Conference but will be looking to make a final push for the first seed in the East, but they can only hope the Philadelphia Union and NYCFC drop points.
After a well-deserved two week break, Atlanta will face off against the Columbus Crew, with the match to be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 14th.
Photo Credits: John Bazemore / AP.
Kyle Soto is a volunteer at The Wolf. Follow him on Twitter @kyledsoto for more soccer content.
