Sounders midfielder Gustav Svensson realizes that, at age 30, this upcoming chance to play in a FIFA World Cup could be both his first and last.
So, when he received the surprise news a couple of weeks back that Sweden wanted him on its final World Cup qualifying round roster for games this month, he’d requested the Sounders let him leave early. Doing so meant he wouldn’t play in a first place battle against Portland, but would be able to join the Swedish side for training in Sofia, Bulgaria ahead of a group qualifying match there.
“It was difficult for me because I wanted to play against Portland, I wanted to help the (Sounders) team as much as possible,” Svensson said after rejoining the Sounders on Tuesday for training in Tukwila.