Wisconsin Soccer Central

After making his debut with the U.S. national team in a pair of friendlies earlier this year, Columbus Crew midfielder Ethan Finlay (Marshfield) was called back into training camp with the team ahead of two matches with much higher stakes.

The 25-year-old was one of 26 players named to the U.S. roster by coach Jurgen Klinsmann for home-and-home World Cup qualifiers against Guatemala.

The teams will play Friday in Guatemala City (9 p.m. on beIN Sports and NBC Universo) and against March 29 on Finlay's home turf at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio (6 p.m. on ESPN2, UniMas and Univision Deportes Network).

The U.S. and Trinidad and Tobago are tied atop Group C in the fourth round of CONCACAF qualifying with 1-0-1 records while Guatemala (1-1-0) is third. The top two teams from each of the three groups advance to the final round of qualifying.

Finlay, one of eight players on the U.S. roster seeking their first World Cup qualifying cap, made his international debut Jan. 31 in a 3-2 win over Iceland. Then on Feb. 6, the former FC Milwaukee attacker came off the bench in the 88th minute and set up Jozy Altidore's winner a minute later as the U.S. tipped Canada 1-0. An MLS Best XI selection last season, Finlay has one assist in three appearances (all starts) for the Crew so far this season.

On Twitter: @EthanFinlay13

• Milwaukee's Keith Tozer has called up hundreds of players during his 11-year tenure as U.S. Futsal national team coach, but his latest roster includes what surely is one of the most special call-ups he's delivered. Defender Alex Tozer (Whitefish Bay Dominican), the coach's son, is one of 15 players called up for a training camp and friendlies in Argentina as the team prepares for May's CONCACAF Championships in Costa Rica. The younger Tozer, 24, recently completed his first season with the Cedar Rapids Rampage in the Major Arena Soccer League – he's one of 10 MASL players on the roster for the trip. The U.S. team, which also includes goalkeeper coach Mark Litton (Racine St. Catherine's/UW-Parkside), will play the Argentine Under-20 team Thursday and Friday and then face the full national team next Sunday and March 28. The Americans play Canada in a two-game, play-in series May 4 and 6 in San Jose, Costa Rica, with the winner earning a spot in Group B of the CONCACAF Championships along with Costa Rica, Curacao and Cuba.
• Chicago Fire midfielder Matt Polster (Milwaukee) is part of the 23-man roster selected by U.S. Under-23 national team coach Andi Herzog for the team's home-and-home playoff against Colombia for the final berth in this summer's Olympic Games in Brazil. The first match is Friday in Barranquilla, Colombia (4 p.m. kickoff on Fox Sports 1), with the return leg March 29 in Frisco, Texas – that game will start at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN2, following the full national team's match against Guatemala.