A first national team cap is a rite of passage for every elite soccer player. For Union midfielder Adam Najem, the honor went well beyond the game.
This past Sunday, Najem made his debut for Afghanistan, the home nation of his father Ahmed. Afghanistan played to a 0-0 tie with Palestine in Kabul. It was the nation's first true home game in five years.
"We arrived at the stadium about two and a half hours before the game, and there were already six, seven thousand people there," he said. "As soon as we stepped out, even before warm-ups, everybody was cheering and whistling.