Rusnák called up for Slovakia national team, U-21s

Albert Rusnak will miss at least three matches for RSL during that time.

Real Salt Lake midfielder Albert Rusnák has been called in for Slovakia as they fight for 2018 World Cup qualification — and according to a Salt Lake Tribune report, he’ll also be joining the Slovakia U-21s.

Slovakia faces Lithuania on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. Mountain. Halfway through the first round of qualification, Slovakia is four points behind England in UEFA’s Group F. If they finish atop their group, they’ll automatically qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup; if they finish in second, they’ll qualify for a play-off.

Interestingly — and perhaps somewhat distressingly — Rusnák was apparently also called in for the Slovakia U-21s, per a report from Salt Lake Tribune reporter Chris Kamrani in which he cites RSL general manager Craig Waibel. Rusnák is not listed in the latest lineup for the U-21s, so we’ll see what exactly that means. We’re trusting Waibel on this one.

That means Rusnák could miss minutes for Real Salt Lake, which isn’t exactly the news anybody wanted. Still, he’s only slated now to miss four matches, should Slovakia progress to the UEFA U-21 Championship final, and if they don’t, it’s likely he’d miss only three.

Slovakia Matches

All times are in Mountain Daylight

• June 10: Lithuania vs. Slovakia, 12:45 p.m.
• June 16: Slovakia U-21 vs. Poland, 12:45 p.m.
• June 19: Slovakia U-21 vs. England, 10 a.m.
• June 22: Slovakia U-21 vs. Sweden, 12:45 p.m.
• June 27: UEFA U-21 Championship semifinals, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
• June 30: UEFA U-21 Championship final, 12:45 p.m.

RSL matches during that period

• June 14: Sacramento Republic vs. RSL, 8:30 p.m.
• June 17: RSL vs. Minnesota United, 8 p.m.
• June 24: San Jose vs. RSL, 8:30 p.m.
• June 30: RSL vs. Orlando City, 7:30 p.m.

Slovakia national team call-ups

Goalkeepers: Martin Dúbravka (Liberec), Ján Novota (Rapid Viedeň), Martin Polaček (Lubin)

Defenders: Peter Pekarík (Hertha), Erik Sabo (Beitar Jeruzalem), Martin Škrtel (Fenerbahce), Milan Škriniar (Sampdoria), Ján Ďurica (Trabzonspor), Kornel Saláta (Slovan), Tomáš Hubočan (Marseille), Norbert Gyömbér (Terek Groznyj)

Midfielders: Stanislav Lobotka (Nordsjalland), Filip Kiss (Haugesund), Patrik Hrošovský (Plzeň), Ján Greguš (FC Kodaň), László Bénes (Mönchengladbach), Marek Hamšík (Neapol), Ondrej Duda (Hertha), Róbert Mak (Petrohrad), Albert Rusnák (Real Salt Lake City), Vladimír Weiss (Al-Gharafa), Matúš Bero (Trabzonspor)

Forward: Michal Ďuriš (Orenburg)