Columbus Crew’s Justin Meram to Play for Iraq

August 18, 2015

Columbus Crew Soccer Club Midfielder Justin Meram is set to play for Iraq’s national team for the World Cup Qualifiers.
Meram (26) started his professional soccer career with MLS side Columbus Crew in 2011. He was drafted in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft on the first round (15th overall). Before joining Major League Soccer, he played at the colleges he attended (Yavapai College Arizona, and then transferred and played at University of Michigan), and then spent one year with an amateur soccer club in Arizona.

Although born in Michigan himself, Justin Meram qualifies to play for the Iraqi National Team through his Iraqi-born parents. He began the process of dual citizenship in 2013, with the aim of playing for Iraq.

This Major League Soccer season, Meram made 22 appearances for Columbus Crew, of which he started in 20 games. He scored 3 goals and made 5 assists, and is one of only 5 Crew players that scored a goal for the team this season.

Justin Meram played on Iraqi duty in 2014 and 2015, and made 14 appearances in both seasons (5 and 9, in 2014 and 2015 respectively), but has yet to score any goals for Iraq. In the upcoming weeks, Iraq is planned to face Lebanon in Sidon (Aug, 26th), Chinese Taipei in Teheran (Sep, 3rd) and Thailand in Bangkok (Sep, 8th).

Columbus Crew is on a strong run nowadays, currently ranked 3rd in the Major League Soccer Eastern Conference. It is uncertain from which MLS games Meram will be released for international duty.