SANDY, Utah (Tuesday, May 14, 2019) – Real Salt Lake FW Julian Vazquez has been named to the Mexico U-18 National Team for its upcoming appearance in the Slovak Cup 2019 held in Slovakia.
Vazquez and the Mexico side will face Slovakia on May 20 before facing Russia on May 20 and England on May 23 with the final being hosted on Friday, May 24.
“We are extremely proud of Julian and each call-up has been a great opportunity for him to experience more soccer around the world,” RSL General Manager Craig Waibel said. “He has been working tremendously hard at training in a professional environment on a daily basis and that has aided in his development as we’ve seen him continue to grow on and off the field.”
Vazquez, 18, has started 14 of 18 matches for the RSL Academy U-19s this season, scoring five goals. For the RSL U-17s last season, Vazquez played in 29 matches, making 25 starts and scoring 13 goals. Through his club career in Utah, Vazquez featured for local powerhouse La Roca Futbol Club and played for Ridgeline High School in Millville, Utah.
“It is always a wonderful opportunity to represent Mexico, especially at the international level,” Vazquez said. “Gaining international experience with the team builds our chemistry and is helping us prepare for our U20 World Cup cycle, and will also help me gain experience here at Real Salt Lake.”
Vazquez became as RSL’s 16th Homegrown signing last October, joining RSL’s current list of 12 Homegrown members on the roster, along with FW Jordan Allen, MF Luis Arriaga, FW Corey Baird, DF Justen Glad, DF Aaron Herrera, DF Erik Holt, DF Brooks Lennon, GK David Ochoa, FW Sebastian Saucedo, FW Tate Schmitt and DF Donny Toia. Other former Homegrown signings include Nico Muniz, Lalo Fernandez, Benji Lopez, Phanuel Kavita, Fito Ovalle and Ricardo Velazco and Carlos Salcedo.
Real Salt Lake is back in action on Saturday, May 18 when it hosts Toronto FC at Rio Tinto Stadium. Tickets to the match can be purchased at RSL.com or by calling 844.REAL.TIX.
