Bill Tuiloma and Pablo Bonilla called up for international duty

Two Portland Timbers players have been called up for their respective national teams for the upcoming June international window.

The team announced yesterday that Bill Tuiloma has been called up by New Zealand for their upcoming international dates. The All Whites will face Peru on June 5 in a friendly before their pivotal intercontinental playoff match against Costa Rica on June 14 for a spot in the FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Tuiloma will link up with New Zealand in Spain, where they will face Peru in Barcelona. Nine days later, they’ll square off against Costa Rica at Al Rayyan Stadium in Doha, Qatar, with the winner claiming the last spot in the 2022 World Cup.

Tuiloma, who has 31 international appearances, has enjoyed a recent rich run of form with the All Whites, which included scoring a brace for New Zealand in a 5-0 over Solomon Islands back in March.

In addition to Tuiloma, the club announced today that Pablo Bonilla has been called up by Venezuela for a pair of international friendlies in June. Venezuela will face Malta on June 1, and then square off against Saudi Arabia on June 9.

Bonilla, who was called up to the senior national team last winter but did not see the field, has made appearances at the U-20 and U-23 levels for Venezuela. He has yet to earn a cap with the senior national team and will have a chance to do so next month.

For the Timbers, one player is less likely to miss time than the other. This Saturday is Portland’s last game until June 18. Bonilla is likely to be back and available for the team by then, but with the four-day turnaround and travel associated, Tuiloma might not available by then.

You can read the press releases on the callups here for Tuiloma and here for Bonilla.