MLS

Ezequiel Barco Puts On A Show In Kansas City Ahead Of U-20 World Cup

Ezequiel Barco Puts On A Show In Kansas City Ahead Of U-20 World Cup

Ezequiel Barco is heating up, but he'll be leaving Atlanta United for seven games to compete for Argentina in the U-20 FIFA World Cup.

May 7, 2019
Ezequiel Barco Puts On A Show In Kansas City Ahead Of U-20 World Cup

How will Atlanta replace Ezequiel Barco? 

For the first of Atlanta United’s exhausting stretch with eight matches in 28 days, Sporting KC had no answer for Barco’s shots from distance in Atlanta’s 3-0 win Sunday night. 

Barco assisted on the first of Atlanta’s three goals with a bullet just outside the penalty box. Sporting’s goalkeeper Tim Melia saved it, but it ricocheted a few yards away and Josef Martinez was in the right place to finish the shot and score first. 

Even though there were defenders in front of him, Barco took a chance again in the 47th minute. His shot sailed between three members of Sporting’s back line, and Atlanta (3-3-2) doubled their road goal count on the season. 



“If you look back at it, it's a play that started all the way at the back. With a little luck, it landed right in front of me,” Barco said through a translator. “The play was almost dead and I felt comfortable enough to take the shot.” 

Entering Sunday with just six goals all season as a team, Barco’s success gave Atlanta United a huge three points to put them in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. 

However, Barco is set to join Argentina’s U-20 National Team at the World Cup in Poland, leaving the team Monday. Atlanta United will play their next seven games without him, starting with a midweek tilt with Toronto (5-2-1) on Wednesday. The offensive void created by Barco’s absence will need to be filled rather quickly.

“I just want to take advantage of the opportunity,” Barco said. “In times past, I've had to pass it up. So I just want to do the best I can.”

For Atlanta, the defending MLS Champions, it’s unfortunate as Barco matched his 2018 goal count (four) Sunday night, just eight games into the 2019 season. 

“It's a pity that he will leave because, OK, last year he struggled sometimes and now you really see what he's capable of,” Atlanta United coach Frank de Boer said. “It's bad for us because you want one of your best players in form, you want to keep him of course. Others have to stand up in that moment, I have confidence in all the other ones. It's a pity that he's not here but we have another, Pity [Martinez], so he has to make the difference.”