Sporting KC Weekly Schedule: March 18-24, 2019

Sporting Kansas City (1-1-1, 4 points) concluded a breathless stretch of six matches in 18 days with a gripping 1-1 road draw against the Colorado Rapids (0-1-2, 2 points) on Sunday night at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, receiving an 88th-minute free kick from Johnny Russell to rescue a point on the cusp of FIFA's international break.

Russell is one of five Sporting players set to represent his country in the coming days as international competitions take center stage across the globe. Fresh off Sunday's game-saving performance, the 28-year-old forward has joined the Scotland Men’s National Team for the start of UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying. Russell and Scotland will begin their Group I qualifying campaign on Thursday, visiting Kazakhstan at 10 a.m. CT at Astana Arena in the Kazakh capital of Astana, before continuing their road trip to San Marino for noon CT kickoff on Sunday in Serravalle’s San Marino Stadium. Both matches will stream live on ESPN3 and WatchESPN.

Sporting defender Botond Barath and forward Krisztian Nemeth have joined the Hungary Men’s National Team for the start of UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying, as well. Barath, Nemeth and the Magyars will begin their Group E qualifying campaign on Thursday, visiting Slovakia at 2:45 p.m. CT inside Anton Malatinsky Stadium in Trnava, Slovakia. Hungary will then host 2018 FIFA World Cup finalist Croatia on Sunday in a noon CT matchup at Groupama Arena in Budapest. Thursday's game will stream live on ESPN3 and WatchESPN, while Sunday's contest will be televised on ESPNEWS and Univision Deportes.

Elsewhere, Sporting defender Abdul Rwatubyaye has been selected to the Rwanda Men’s National Team for a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Ivory Coast on Saturday at Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny in the Ivorian capital of Abidjan. The match will air live on beIN SPORTS at noon CT as Rwanda concludes its Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign, having already been eliminated from Group H contention.

Lastly, Sporting defender and 18-year-old Academy product Jaylin Lindsey has joined the United States U-20 Men’s National Team for a training camp in Spain. Lindsey links up with a 20-player squad for a camp highlighted by friendly matches against the France U-20s on Friday (9 a.m. CT) and Japan U-20s next Monday, March 25 (6 a.m. CT). Both games will take place at the Pinatar Arena in San Pedro del Pinatar, Spain.

Single-game tickets for the second leg of the 2019 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League Semifinals between Sporting and Mexican giants Monterrey at Children’s Mercy Park are now on sale at SeatGeek.com. Tickets for the monumental showdown, which will take place between April 9-11, are included in Sporting Kansas City Season Ticket Member packages. Sporting will visit Monterrey for the first leg at Estadio BBVA Bancomer between April 2-4 before hosting the Mexican side in the decisive return fixture the following week. Concacaf will announce exact dates, kickoff times, streaming and broadcast details for both semifinal matches in the near term.

Sporting are off this weekend, allowing the Swope Park Rangers to take the spotlight on Saturday when they host Pittsburgh Riverhounds FC in their USL Championship home opener at world-class Children's Mercy Park. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. CT with general admission tickets available at SeatGeek.com or at the stadium box office on matchday. The matchup will also stream live on ESPN+ as the Rangers, led by head coach and former Sporting KC midfielder Paulo Nagamura, contend for their third conference title in four seasons.

The Sporting KC Academy U-19s, U-17s and U-15s will put a combined 12-game winning streak on the line against one of the country’s best academies on Saturday. A high-profile tripleheader against FC Dallas will take place at Toyota Soccer Center in Frisco, Texas, with the U-15s kicking off at noon CT followed by the U-17s at 2 p.m. and the U-19s at 4 p.m. Follow @SKCAcademy on Twitter for live updates on Saturday and throughout the season.

A new episode of The Sporting KC Show will air at 6 p.m. CT Tuesday with hosts Nate Bukaty and Carter Augustine. The duo will discuss Sporting's impressive run to the Concacaf Champions League Semifinals, recap Sunday's 1-1 draw in Colorado and preview busy slate of international action.

For news, videos, photos and instant updates throughout the 2019 season, follow SportingKC on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat (sportingkc), and download the new Sporting KC App on the App Store or Google Play.