Sporting Kansas City midfielder Roger Espinoza was named to the Honduras Men’s National Team roster on Thursday for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup play-in series. French Guiana will host the opening leg on March 25 before the decisive return leg in Honduras on March 29.
Espinoza is one of 23 players on head coach Jorge Luis Pinto’s roster and will miss Sporting Kansas City’s regular season match at New York City FC on March 28. The 28-year-old has made 45 international appearances for Honduras, scoring four goals and representing his native country at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2012 Summer Olympics and 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Espinoza was drafted by Kansas City in the first round of the 2008 MLS SuperDraft as a Generation adidas signing out of The Ohio State University after leading the Buckeyes to the 2007 NCAA Division I Championship match and scoring in the final. He was named Kansas City's Rookie of the Year in 2008 to begin a five-year run that culminated with MLS All-Star honors and a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship in 2012.
He joined Wigan Athletic in January 2013, making his English Premier League debut that same month before scoring his first goal for the Latics in an EPL match against Swansea. Four days later, Espinoza started and played the full 90 minutes in Wigan's historic 1-0 victory in the 2012/13 FA Cup final over Manchester City at Wembley Stadium.
After making 57 appearances for Wigan, Espinoza returned to Sporting Kansas City prior to the 2015 season. He has made 132 appearances for the club across all competition with three goals and 12 assists, including his 44th-minute goal at FC Dallas on Saturday.
