Houston Dynamo defender Aljaž “Kiki” Struna was named to Slovenia’s National Team for two EURO 2020 qualifiers, the Football Association of Slovenia announced earlier this week.
Slovenia will continue their campaign to qualify for the UEFA 2020 European Championship at 1:35 p.m. CT on Friday, June 7 against Austria at Wörthersee Stadion in Klagenfurt, Austria. Slovenia will also take on Latvia on Monday, June 10 at 1:35 CT at Daugava Stadium in Riga, Latvia. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN 3.
Struna has earned 14 caps for the Slovenian national team, including six starts for his country during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign and two starts during the UEFA Euro 2020 qualification campaign. He first represented his country at the Under-21 level six times from 2009-11 before making his full international debut on March 23, 2016 against Macedonia. His most recent appearance at the international level came on March 24 in a UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying match against North Macedonia where he started and played all 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw.
In his first season with the Dynamo, Struna has appeared in 13 games in all competitions and 10 MLS matches. The center back earned MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week honors in his league debut after leading a Dynamo defense that shut down Montreal Impact star Ignacio Piatti in a 2-1 win on March 9.
Struna will depart to join the Slovenian team following Saturday’s Dynamo home match against Sporting Kansas City (7:30 p.m. CDT | TICKETS). The Dynamo go into that contest fourth in the MLS Western Conference with a 7-3-2 record and 23 points, but their average of 1.92 points per game is second-best in all of Major League Soccer. With Struna leading the way, the Dynamo back line has conceded just 13 goals in 12 games so far this season.
