Derby County’s Nathaniel Mendez-Laing made his international debut for Guatemala in the early hours of Wednesday morning - and he marked the occasion with a win and an assist.
The 31-year-old forward qualifies to play for Guatemala through his grandmother and also his mother, who were both born in the Central American country, and he recently secured the relevant documentation to represent them at international level.
After being named in their squad for the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Mendez-Laing started their Group D opener against Cuba in Fort Lauderdale to claim his first international cap and he played 71 minutes before being replaced.
Guatemala were 1-0 winners thanks to a goal just after half-time from Darwin Lom, who had missed a penalty at the end of the first half, after latching onto Mendez-Laing’s smart ball in behind the Cuban backline.
Next up for Guatemala and Mendez-Laing is a meeting with the Gold Cup’s joint-hosts Canada on 1st July in Houston and then Guadeloupe in New Jersey on 4th July. Should Guatemala progress to the knock-out stages, the Quarter Finals will take place on 8th/9th July, followed by the Semi-Finals on 12th July and the Final on 16th July.
Mendez-Laing, who made 51 appearances for Derby in the 2022/23 season and scored eight times, will miss the start of pre-season training ahead of the 2023/24 campaign with Paul Warne’s squad but he will join up with the Rams’ squad once his international commitments have concluded.