Alex Roldan scores in El Salvador debut
The younger Roldan brother entered as a sub and grabbed the game-winner.
It was quite a night for Alex Roldan. The Seattle Sounders right wingback not only made his international debut for El Salvador — coming on as a 64th minute sub — but also scored the game-winning goal in a 2-0 win over Guatemala in the group stage of the Gold Cup on Sunday.
¡Espectacular GOLAZO! ⚽
— Gold Cup (@GoldCup) July 12, 2021
No hay duda que este disparo romperedes de Roldán, de @LaSelecta_SLV , tenía que ser el GOL DEL DÍA
Presentado por @ToyotaLatino #CopaOro21 #EstoEsNuestro pic.twitter.com/5SvaZzFZik
Roldan, who was playing more as a central midfielder in this one, was able to latch onto a loose ball at the top of the penalty area and hit a low shot just about perfectly into the far side netting. Roldan had only officially committed to El Salvador in the last month. He had also been recruited by Guatemala, coincidentally enough.
Roldan appears to be the first Sounders player to score in their international debut. Jordan Morris scored in his first-ever start — against Mexico — but had made two substitute appearances before that.
It was only a week ago that Roldan had scored his first MLS goal, scoring for the Sounders in their 1-1 tie with the Colorado Rapids. He followed that up with the game-winning assist in the Sounders’ next game, a 2-0 win over the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday.