In the end, Tony Tchani chose the country of his birth.

The Crew SC midfielder accepted an international call-up from his native Cameroon for a pair of African Cup of Nations qualifiers against South Africa, potentially snuffing any chance he had of one day playing a meaningful game for the United States.

"I thought Cameroon was the best option for me," Tchani said. "I thought about it a lot. I talked to...

In the end, Tony Tchani chose the country of his birth.

The Crew SC midfielder accepted an international call-up from his native Cameroon for a pair of African Cup of Nations qualifiers against South Africa, potentially snuffing any chance he had of one day playing a meaningful game for the United States.

�I thought Cameroon was the best option for me,� Tchani said. �I thought about it a lot. I talked to some family members, and I thought it was the best decision for me.�

If Tchani plays in either game against South Africa this month (Saturday in Limbe or March 29 in Durban), he will be cap-tied to Cameroon, and cannot play for the United States.

Tchani, a naturalized citizen, was called into the annual U.S. January camp and made his debut U.S. debut against Iceland on Jan. 31.

Because the Iceland game was a friendly, Tchani was not cap-tied to the U.S. He was initially called in by Cameroon in November but did not join the team because of a hamstring injury. He was surprised by his call-up to U.S. camp, he said, because there are so many other players waiting for the opportunity.

If Tchani does not make an appearance in either Cameroon game this month he will remain eligible to play for both teams.

Tchani, 26, said he has not been able to get a good read on how Cameroon views him, beyond its interest in calling him in. He has not discussed his standing with anyone from Cameroon�s staff or federation.

For now, he is considered a fringe player in the U.S. pool.

�That�s the thing,� Tchani said. �Nothing is guaranteed. You have to think about the future, and I can think about America for next year or in two years. But when I think about right now, I think (Cameroon) was the best choice.�

Tchani said it has been 10 years since he was last in Cameroon, but there will be nothing strange about pulling on its jersey.

�That�s my first home,� he said. �The U.S. is my second home.�

Crew forward Kei Kamara said Tchani is in a �win-win� situation. Kamara, a former Sierra Leone striker, said he told Tchani before his call-up to the U.S. that �he can�t go wrong.�

�I was happy for him when he was with the U.S. but if he�s decided on Cameroon, that�s great,� Kamara said. �I played in Africa. I know what the passion is. It�s going to be a lot of fun for him.�

Cameroon is one of the stronger teams in Africa. It has qualified for seven of the past nine World Cups and has been ranked as high as 11th in the world.

Earlier Saturday, Crew SC midfielder Wil Trapp was called into the U.S. under-23 camp in preparation for a do-or-die Olympic qualifying series against Colombia.

Trapp and Tchani will join Crew teammates Harrison Afful (Ghana) and Rodrigo Saravia (Guatemala) on international duty this month.

Midfielder Justin Meram was not called into Iraq�s camp in advance of a pair of World Cup qualifiers against Thailand and Vietnam.

Midfielder Cedrick Mabwati will not play for DR Congo in a pair of continental qualifiers against Angola. Mabwati will instead return to Spain to take care of personal matters but is expected to return to Columbus before the end of the week.

The Crew is on a bye this week and will not play again until April 2 at Dallas. The U.S. senior team will play host to Guatemala in a World Cup qualifier on March 29 in Mapfre Stadium.

Head coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter is also headed abroad for a few days. He departed Chicago for somewhere in Latin America in pursuit of �international relations.�

--Shawn Mitchell

smitchell@dispatch.com

@smitchcd