Sporting Kansas City forward Diego Rubio started and played 57 minutes for the Chile Men's National Team in a 0-0 friendly draw against South Korea on Tuesday.
The occasion marked a momentous breakthrough for Rubio, who made his first senior international appearance for Chile since September 2011 and collected his fourth cap overall. The 25-year-old was deployed as a left winger for most of his shift in head coach Reinaldo Rueda's 4-2-3-1 formation. Joining Rubio in La Roja's attacking quartet was FC Barcelona's Arturo Vidal, Pachuca's Angel Sagal and Bayer Leverkusen's Charles Aranguiz.
Rubio won a pair of fouls during the first half and exited near the hour mark in a cagey contest at Suwon Stadium in Suwon, South Korea. La Roja held an 11-7 edge in shot attempts and enjoyed 58 percent of possession, but were unable to break down the well-organized hosts.
Chile was slated to play two friendly matches in Asia during the September FIFA window. However, last Friday's meeting with Japan was canceled when a 6.7-magnitude shook the area surrounding Sapporo, where the match was scheduled to take place.
Rubio will now rejoin Sporting KC ahead of Saturday's road test against the San Jose Earthquakes at Avaya Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 9:30 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX Sports Midwest Plus and FOX Sport GO. Rubio has scored or assisted in seven straight MLS matches, an all-time Sporting KC record, and boasts five goals in as many games since the start of August.
