VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC confirmed today that centre back Johnny Leveron (Honduras) and striker Darren Mattocks (Jamaica) have been called up by their respective countries for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
On October 11, Honduras will host Costa Rica and Jamaica will visit the United States, before the two sides meet October 15 at Kingston Independence Park to conclude the fourth and final round of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers.
The top three teams in CONCACAF will qualify directly for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, while the fourth-placed side will play a home-and-home series with New Zealand to determine the final entrant.
The United States and Costa Rica have already secured their berths in Brazil with 16 and 15 points respectively. Honduras currently sits in third with 11 points, while Jamaica comes in at the bottom of the table with four points.
Both players will depart for international duty early next week following Whitecaps FC’s Cascadia tilt with Portland Timbers at BC Place and return on October 16. As a result, they will be unavailable for selection October 9 when Whitecaps FC visit Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field.
Leveron, 23, has scored three goals in 22 international appearances with the Honduran senior national team since making his debut in 2010. The native of Yoro, Honduras, has started all 18 of his appearances with Whitecaps FC in his first season in MLS.
Mattocks, 23, has earned seven caps for the Jamaican senior national team after making his debut August 15, 2012 in an international friendly against El Salvador. Most recently, the Portmore, Jamaica native played 28 minutes in Jamaica’s 1-0 loss to Mexico June 4 in a previous World Cup qualifier.
Selected second overall in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, Mattocks enjoyed a formidable rookie season in which he won the Domenic Mobilio Golden Boot as the 'Caps top goalscorer with nine goals in all competitions. The former University of Akron standout has three goals and an assist in 17 MLS appearances this season.
