On Aug. 19, Philadelphia Union midfielder Adam Najem made his international debut for Afghanistan in the country’s first home match in five years, a scoreless draw against Palestine.
Najem spoke to ExtraTime Radio host Andrew Wiebe this week in a wide-ranging interview about the experience, his family’s history with the national team and the pride his father, who immigrated to New Jersey in 1989, felt seeing his son pull on the colors in Kabul.
Below is a condensed version of the interview. Some of the questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.