LAFC’s Tomas Romero called up by El Salvador for Olympic qualifying

One LAFC player, rookie goalkeeper Tomas Romero, is on the plane to Guadalajara for Concacaf Olympic qualifying, after being named to the final roster for El Salvador ahead of the tournament opening later this week.

Romero is one of three goalkeepers called up by El Salvador head coach Hugo Perez, joining Mario Gonzalez, who is likely to be the starter for the team, and San Jose Earthquakes academy player Damian Alguera.

Romero reportedly joined up with his national teammates midweek, after starting LAFC’s training camp last week with the club. With LAFC, he is expected to be third-string and could be in line to see playing time this year with the club’s USL Championship affiliate, Las Vegas Lights FC.

Still, Romero is well-regarded and could play in the qualifying tournament. Perez has called up several dual-nationals aside from Romero and Alguera, including his own nephew and former LAFC player Josh Perez, who currently plays professionally for Spanish third-division side Ibiza. El Salvador isn’t favored to qualify for the Olympics, but they seem to be pulling out the stops to try and make it happen.

One other LAFC player who was in contention to go to Olympic qualifying, defender Marco Farfan, was not called up to the final United States roster, and presumably has joined up with LAFC’s training camp.

The qualifying tournament kicks off Thursday, with the U.S. playing Costa Rica. El Salvador will play on Friday, against Canada. Congrats to Tomas and best of luck.

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