Washington, D.C. (June 10, 2013) – D.C. United today announced that forward Carlos Ruiz has been called up to the Guatemala National Team ahead of a friendly versus Argentina on June 14 in Guatemala. Ruiz returns to his native country, after announcing his retirement from international play last October, to feature for the nation in a friendly fixture.
In total, “El Pescadito” has appeared in 104 games for the country, tallying 55 goals in the process. Ruiz is Guatemala’s all-time leading goal scorer as of 6/14/08, when he broke Juan Carlos Plata’s previous record. The forward last wore the Guatemala jersey on Oct. 16, 2012 – notching the country’s lone goal – against the U.S. Men’s National Team in a 3-1 loss in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying. Although Guatemala did not advance to the Hexagonal (Final) Round, Ruiz netted five goals in its final four matches of qualifying. Ruiz made his first appearance for Guatemala in 1998 in a friendly against Mexico and scored his first international goal at the 1999 UNCAF Nations Cup against El Salvador. The striker has also represented his country in the 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
A former MLS MVP, MLS Cup MVP and MLS All-Star Game MVP, Ruiz has appeared in 179 MLS matches (153 starts) and has struck the back of the net 88 times while also adding 17 assists. The all-time leader in MLS playoff goals (16), the Guatemalan also sits 9th (tied) all-time on the MLS all-time leading scoring list. Selected via the MLS allocation process on Feb. 20, Ruiz has featured in 10 matches (three starts) in 2013 for the Black-and-Red.
