EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – It wasn’t until a few years ago that the opportunity before Dom Dwyer came into focus. Born and raised in England, he wasn’t even an American citizen until March 2017.
But now, Dwyer’s on the verge of representing his adopted home country for the first time, as the US national team take on Ghana in a pre-Gold Cup friendly Saturday afternoon at Rentschler Field (3:45 pm CT | ESPN, UniMás, UDN).
Should he make his official debut on the international stage, the Sporting Kansas City striker said emotions will seep through.
“When I step on the field and am called upon, I think I’ll really feel it,” Dwyer said. “I hope I get a good reaction from the fans and can give them one back.”
For the better part of six years, Dwyer’s been doing just that for Kansas City fans, with 57 goals to his name in 128 MLS games. The question facing him now is whether he can force himself into Bruce Arena’s plans, especially with experienced – though young – national team strikers in Juan Agudelo and Jordan Morris also in camp.
Either way, he’s certainly caught Arena’s eye.
“This is not an unknown, but he’s another player without international experience,” Arena said. “He’s going to show us tomorrow where he’s at with this level of play. My expectations are that he’s going to do fine.”
And, as a newcomer in the USMNT ranks, advice has flowed forth for the 26-year-old. Peter Vermes, his club coach with Sporting, told him to just be himself; Arena told him to come in with confidence; and Sydney Leroux, his wife and a member of the World Cup-winning US women’s national team, told him to enjoy the moment.
There’s even been the guidance of Matt Besler and Graham Zusi, his fellow teammates with Kansas City and members of the 2017 Gold Cup roster. The trio flew out to US camp following their 2-1 win over the LA Galaxy on June 24, a time when Dwyer's chance with the national team fully sunk in.
“On the way with [Besler] and [Zusi] on the plane, when we kind of left the team, it started to get very real,” Dwyer said. “Now just being here, it’s great. I’m just excited and want to get out there.”
But, just like other players who will feature in July, it’s hard not to wonder if Dwyer can parlay a strong tournament into helping the US qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
His concern doesn’t rest there, though, with Dwyer instead focused on earning minutes against Ghana and going from there.
“That’s something that’s exciting for any player down the road, but right now the focus is the Gold Cup,” Dwyer said. “Tomorrow we’ve got a friendly which will be a very good warm-up for the tournament, and then we’ll work hard on that.”
