When the United States take on Guatemala in the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal, the USMNT veterans will be competing against a familiar face.
The Guatemala squad features multiple players who have been in the U.S. international setup at various points before making the switch to represent a different nation.
Both Rubio Rubin and Aaron Herrera have appeared for the United States at the senior international level and now face the U.S. for their current national team. While Herrera has only made one appearance in a friendly against Trinidad & Tobago for the U.S. at the senior level, Rubin is a far more familiar face.
The Sporting News details Rubin’s history with the United States and how he was able to make the switch to represent Guatemala.
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Who is Rubio Rubin? Former USMNT forward faces old team
Born in Beaverton, Ore., Rubio Rubin began his professional career by joining Dutch club FC Utrecht when he was 18. At the same time, he was involved in the United States youth setup and was named U.S. Soccer Young Male Athlete of the Year in 2012 while playing for the U-17 side.
In 2014, the same year he signed for Utrecht, Rubin received a call-up to the senior national team from Jurgen Klinsmann, making his debut against Colombia in a 2-1 defeat. He would make two more appearances in short order in losses to Ireland and Denmark. He would not appear again until four years later when, in 2018, he was called up to play in four friendlies after the U.S. failed to qualify for the World Cup that year.
“Rubin is technically gifted, smart, and physically capable of holding his own and put in a steady and mature performance against one of the world’s best sides in Colombia,” one unnamed Champions League scout told ESPN after his USMNT debut.
The head coach agreed. “I saw an 18-year-old kid, Rubio Rubin, show that he is coming through the system which is exciting to see,” Klinsmann said. “We saw individual performances that were just fun to watch.”
After scoring three goals in 41 appearances for Utrecht, Rubin bounced around Europe playing for clubs in Denmark and Norway before returning back to North America to play for Club Tijuana in Mexico. Eventually, he would make his way back to the United States to play three years for MLS club Real Salt Lake from 2021-2024.
Currently, Rubin plays for USL Championship club Charleston Battery, unable to stick with an MLS club once leaving RSL.
How is Rubio Rubin eligible for Guatemala?
Because Rubio Rubin earned all seven of his international caps in friendlies, he was never officially cap-tied by the United States.
Thus, under the new one-time switch rules FIFA instituted in 2020, Rubin was eligible to represent another nation, as long as he waited three years since his last appearance for the United States.
Thus, with Rubin born to a Mexican father and Guatemalan mother, he was eligible to change national teams. He decided to file a one-time switch to represent Guatemala, making his debut for the national team in a CONCACAF Nations League defeat to French Guiana in 2022.
He has since made 34 appearances for Guatemala, scoring 13 goals. He has scored twice in the 2025 Gold Cup, bagging goals against Guadeloupe and Canada.
