The good news, Sounders soccer is almost back. The bad news, the Sounders aren’t all back. The worse news, they aren’t going to be back soon. Of the 10 Sounders that left for national team duty, two came back already, as Gustav Svensson and Brad Smith were only go for about a week. The remaining players are split between Copa America and the Gold Cup.

Copa America

Xavier Arreaga: Arreaga has yet to see a minute of Copa America action for Ecuador. Ecuador has lost their first two matches and picked up two red cards in the process. Somehow though, they are not eliminated yet, thanks to Paraguay’s loss. If Ecuador can beat Japan in their final match, Ecuador will advance to play Brazil. If Ecuador advances, Arreaga will still be with the team to play Brazil in the quarterfinals on June 27th. If Ecuador can’t beat Japan, then he may be available for the match against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Nicolas Lodeiro: With Paraguay’s loss to Colombia, Uruguay’s spot in the quarterfinals was assured. Uruguay faces Chile to decide who wins Group C and with a win, Nico’s side will take first. If they draw, they’ll be second, and if they lose they could be second or third. Winning their group means they’ll play Peru, second place plays Colombia, and third would play Brazil. In any manner, Nico is guaranteed to be out for the Vancouver match on the 29th. If he loses in the quarterfinals, he may be available on July 3rd to face NYCFC. If he advances to the semis, a likely scenario with the strength of Uruguay so far, He will likely miss the July 3rd and 6th matches.

Raul Ruidiaz: Like Nico, Ruidiaz was guaranteed to advance because of Paraguay’s loss today. Peru was in a precarious position after losing 5-0 to Brazil and falling into third place with four points and a-3 GD but thanks to Paraguay guaranteeing to be a worse 3rd place side, Peru gets to advance. Ruidiaz hasn’t played a single minute in Copa America after two strong showings in Peru’s warm-up friendlies. Peru gets to play the winner of Group C, either Uruguay or Chile, on June 29th. A loss in that match returns him for the NYCFC, likely as a sub, on July 3rd, and if not, then July 6th. Should Uruguay win their group, Ruidiaz will play Lodeiro and ensure one of them returns home.

Gold Cup

Jordy Delem: Martinique played well, including beating Cuba 3-0 but unfortunately couldn’t get a result against Canada or Mexico to advance. Jordy started all three matches at CB for Martinique, keeping one shutout. Delem finished up group play on the 23rd in Charlotte and will be available, likely as a starter, on the 29th.

Joevin Jones: Joevin is coming home. Trinidad & Tobago fell to Panama and the USA in their first two matches and thanks to Guyana also losing to both, have no chance to catch either team for 2nd place. Joevin has played the part of a sub for T&T but that is it, though he may get a start against Guyana because why not. His last Gold Cup game is on the 26th at 3:30 PM in Kansas City. There is a chance after that game he could return home and if not, he would likely return the day after. With the 29th being a home game, it is likely that Joevin will be available but he may not be able to start. His lack of travel distance, compared to the Copa America participants, will be a big help.

Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan: TL;DR don’t expect these two back till after the July 6th Columbus Crew match. The Jordan Morris show subbed on Cleveland and tore up the field against T&T, grabbing two assists. Thanks to that blow out (and the Guyana one), the USMNT is already guaranteed to advance to the knockout stages. Whether they win the group or are runners-up to Panama, they’ll play in the quarterfinals on June 30th. They’ll play someone from Group C, Jamaica, El Salvador, or Curacao, who they are all likely to beat. Should they progress to the semifinals, they’ll play again on July 3rd. They likely won’t make it back for the July 6th match, even if they lose in the semis.

Roman Torres: See the section above. Replace names with Roman Torres and Captain Torres, a defensive leader for Panama. Panama has yet to give up a goal via the run of play. They shutout T&T and then gave up two PKs to Guyana. They’ll have a hard fought match the USMNT for who wins the group, a draw gives it to the USMNT, but after that it will be a quarterfinals matchup with a Group C side, Jamaica, El Salvador, or Curacao. and should be favored to win. Roman likely will not return till after a July 3rd matchup against the USMNT in the semifinals. Either Roman or Jordan/Cristian would then not return till after the July 7th final but losing in the semis or playing in the finals still returns them for the Atlanta United match on July 14th.

Sounders Opponents

Vancouver Whitecaps - June 29th: Seattle is without Lodeiro, Ruidiaz, Morris, Roldan, and Torres for sure. They may lose Arreaga as well. The Whitecaps meanwhile will be without their Canadian quartet most likely, as Derek Cornelius, Maxime Crepeau, Doneil Henry, and Russell Teibert helped secure Canada’s 2nd place finish in Group A. They play the winner of Group B, most likely Costa Rica, on June 29th in the quarterfinals.

NYCFC - July 3rd: For a player to not have reported back to this game they would have to A. make the quarterfinals, if they win the quarterfinal they will 100% not be available, if they lose the quarterfinal, then their return is questionable. Sean Johnson is away with the USMNT, if he is available then so are Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan, it is very likely Johnson will not be available and NYCFC will start their backup keeper. Ronald Matarrita is with the Costa Rican national team which guaranteed their spot in the quarterfinals their 2-1 win over Bermuda. Costa Rica will likely play Canada in the quarterfinals and should be slightly favored. That quarterfinal will be played in Houston, making it unlikely Matarrita will be available to start but may be an option of the bench if they lose to Canada. Alexander Callens is with Raul Ruidiaz and Peru and they are likely getting eliminated in the quarterfinals match on June 29th, but would have a hard time returning to start. If Callens can start, Ruidiaz likely can as well. Lastly, Ebenezer Ofori is away with the Ghanaian for the AFCON Cup of Nations and the final group stage match is not until July 2nd.

Columbus Crew - July 6th: Wil Trapp and Gyasi Zardes are with the USMNT. If the USMNT makes the semifinals, likely, then these two are likely unavailable. If they are available, then Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan likely are as well. Jonathan Mensah will finish group stage matches on July 2nd with Ghana and is unlikely to return from Egypt soon enough to play in this match. If Ghana advances from their group, fairly likely, then Mensah will definitely not be back.

Atlanta United - July 14th: No one is likely missing this match for either side. If anyone is, it will be because of long travel created from being in the Copa America final. Raul Ruidiaz is likely to be eliminated before this. Josef Martinez and Venezuela were able to hop over Peru into 2nd place in the group and face-off against Argentina in the quarterfinals. Argentina has looked weak and that could allow Venezuela to advance through to the semis but the run likely ends there. If they make it to the July 7th final, he still likely returns but there is a small chance he misses the match.