Seattle Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer hasexpressed his surprise at the decision to drop striker Ruiz Ruidiaz from the Peru squad for the ongoing Copa America tournament in Brazil. Schmetzer spoke to the media about Ruidiaz, Peru and the Copa America tournament on Friday.

The presence of Ruidiaz in the Seattle Sounders team at the moment is a big plus to Schmetzer and his team but it didn’t stop him from expressing his opinion on the decision to leave him out of the Peru team for the tournament. According to the Seattle Sounders manager, Ruidiaz has been in good form in front of goal and it’s surprising that he was cut off from the team for the Copa America tournament.

Schmetzer went on to say that Ruidiaz was a substitute for Peru in their first World Cup qualifier this summer at home to Colombia before he was unused for the second World Cup qualifier this summer away to Ecuador. The Colombia game ended in a disappointing 3-0 defeat for Ruidiaz and his Peru teammates, while the Ecuador game saw Peru pick up their first points of the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers via a 2-1 away win over the Ecuadorians.

On his availability for the MLS clash with LA Galaxy later this week, Schmetzer confirmed that Ruidiaz is in line to face the team from Los Angeles. LA Galaxy and Seattle Sounders are scheduled to meet each other when the MLS resumes from the two-week international break this weekend.

Schmetzer is glad that he has Ruidiaz available to him when MLS football resumes later this week rather than away with the Peruvian national team at the ongoing Copa America tournament in Brazil. For the Copa America tournament, Peru have been drawn in Group B alongside defending champions Brazil who also double as hosts, Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia.