One day after scoring his first two goals of the MLS season, Galaxy forward Gyasi Zardes was called up for the U.S. men’s national team’s World Cup Qualifying matches against Guatemala.

Zardes is one of 26 players to make the cut for the critical qualifying matches. The team travels to Guatemala for a 7 p.m. matchup on March 25, then play the second leg of the series on March 29 at 4 p.m. in Columbus, Ohio. L.A. is taking an international break during the weekend.

“I see it as an opportunity to keep working hard and keep learning,” Zardes said after scoring twice the Galaxy’s 3-1 win over San Jose on Saturday. “Every time I get with the national team, I learn so much, not only from the coaching staff, but from the other players who play in different leagues, who play in  the Bundesliga or the EPL. Just playing alongside those guys really helped me progress as a player and as I keep going, I just hope to get better.”

The United States is tied with Trinidad and Tobago for the top spot in Group C with four points and need to finish in the top two to advance to the next round of qualifying. The team plays its final group stage qualifying matches in September, facing St. Vincent and The Grenadines on Sept. 2 and Trinidad and Tobago on Sept. 6.

Former Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez was also called up to the national team.

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