Will Brandan Craig for Jim Curtin in MLS on Saturday?

Brandan Craig is waiting his turn, and he’s not alone.

Everyone who watched the Union’s prized centerback prospect star for the U.S. at the recent Under-20 men’s World Cup — especially the many European scouts tracking his progress — is waiting, too.

When will the 19-year-old from Morrell Park in Northeast Philadelphia finally make his first start in the big leagues?

Since Craig moved up to the Union’s first team at the start of 2021, he has made just one appearance: a three-minute cameo in last July’s 7-0 rout of D.C. United at Subaru Park. That came a few days after Craig returned from helping the U.S. win Concacaf’s U20 continental championship, which qualified the Americans for this year’s World Cup and next year’s Olympics.

When he got to the World Cup a few weeks ago, Craig marshaled a U.S. back line that posted shutouts in its first four games before falling to eventual champion Uruguay in the quarterfinals.

Not only was Craig a tenacious defender, but he showed off what the Union have long known is his secret weapon: terrific passing and set-piece skills. One of his free kicks produced the final goal of the Americans’ 4-0 win over New Zealand in the round of 16.

» READ MORE: Born to soccer, Northeast Philly’s Brandan Craig and Quinn Sullivan aim for the 2026 World Cup

“Coming back from the World Cup, I was full of confidence and everything because I obviously played really well; the team did really well,” Craig told The Inquirer. “And especially coming back to the [Union] group being very good, too. So I feel like I’m just back right into the rhythm where I left off.”

Union manager Jim Curtin has said often that he’d like to get Craig into games, but it’s much easier said than done. It’s one thing for a 6-foot-1, 159-pound (officially) teenager to play against people his own age and size. It’s another to duel with bigger, stronger, and older men in MLS.

Then again, as Craig pointed out, some of the players he faced at the World Cup weren’t afraid to throw their weight around.

“There’s some 20-year-olds built like that — especially on Ecuador and Slovakia, they had some real target No. 9s,” he said. “It’s a little different, obviously, because of personnel, but, at the same time, it’s still more on me, rather than dealing with the opponent. As long as I can control my performance, I don’t think the opponent really matters too much.”

Those are words any manager would love to hear.

» READ MORE: Rising star Julián Carranza continues to be the Union’s gain and Inter Miami’s loss

Ideally, Craig would debut in the 3-5-2 that Curtin often has used recently, lined up between veterans Damion Lowe and Jakob Glesnes. But Lowe is gone with Jamaica’s national team at the Gold Cup, and goalkeeper Andre Blake is too.

That raises the risk level of playing Craig right now in a 4-4-2, which the Union went back to in Wednesday’s 2-2 tie at Orlando City. On the Lions’ first goal, scorer Duncan McGuire had an alarming amount of space to exploit before heshot past Joe Bendik.

Still, Saturday’s game against Inter Miami (7:30 p.m., Apple TV, paywalled) has long been circled by outsiders as one where Craig could play. With the Union having a short turnaround from Wednesday, could it make sense to rest Glesnes or (more likely) Jack Elliott this weekend?

When Curtin was asked Friday, he took a notably long pause before answering.

“We’ll see,” Curtin said. “We don’t just hand out minutes. It’s an open competition, and we’ll put a team on the field that can get a result. … I’m not going to reveal any lineups, but yeah, Brandan’s a young player that’s working to get minutes.”

José Andrés Martínez celebrates his golazo

When José Andrés Martínez fired the long-range blast that produced his first Union goal, he knew he had hit the ball well. But after the first 106 shots of his time here missed the net, he didn’t initially realize that the 107th had actually gone in.

“I think you can see in my celebration that I knew I hit it well, and I was just looking to see if it went in or out,” Martínez said. “It went in for my first goal, and then I could congratulate myself.”

» READ MORE: José Andrés Martínez’s miracle goal steals a 2-2 tie for the Union at Orlando City

Martínez admitted he’s gotten an earful over the years from teammates who lamented all those misses. Finally, he was able to fire a zinger back.

“In one conversation with Ale Bedoya, I told him when I score a goal, don’t come celebrate with me,” he said, and he symbolically nudged Bedoya away when the Union’s captain ran over to him. “I wanted to celebrate by myself. It was just so emotional. But then all my teammates came and we were able to celebrate together.”

Whether or not it takes another 107 shots for Martínez to score again, he said he won’t stop shooting.

“The confidence comes from inside me, from practicing and keeping on, looking and looking for that goal,” he said. “Thank God I got it. I tried and I shot a lot of times from long distance and didn’t get one. This was a moment when I was able to get it.”

» READ MORE: Union Takeaways: José Andrés Martínez’s first goal for the team is one to remember forever

Is Messi playing against the Union?

If you’re just hearing that Lionel Messi’s new team is coming to town, know that he won’t be here. Messi has not officially signed with Inter Miami yet, and whenever he does, he’ll take a few weeks of vacation before taking the field.

Miami principal owner Jorge Mas said this week that the team is targeting July 21, when the Herons host Mexico’s Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup, for Messi’s debut.

Though it’s never been a secret that Messi won’t be here for a while, that hasn’t stopped fans from calling the Union’s ticket office — and Curtin’s friends from calling him directly.

In fact, Saturday’s game already was pretty close to sold out before Messi made his decision. Across the rest of MLS, ticket prices for Messi’s expected games have skyrocketed.

» READ MORE: The Union’s Argentines celebrate Lionel Messi coming to MLS