International Career
Overall, Ruiz has earned 103 caps and scored 54 goals for his country and has played at the World Cup qualification campaigns for the FIFA World Cups of 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014. He played his first international match on November 11, 1998, a friendly against Mexico, and scored his first goal against El Salvador at the 1999 UNCAF Nations Cup. In 2000, as the Guatemala national futsal team had begun its development, Ruiz was selected, along with other 11-a-side football players, as part of the squad that competed at the 2000 Futsal World Championship, hosted by Guatemala. He scored one goal in the tournament.
After scoring eight goals in nine matches during the 2002 World Cup qualification campaign and already having a successful career in the MLS, Ruiz was the focal point of the Guatemalan team in qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, leading the team in scoring as they reached the final stage of the CONCACAF region.
On June 14, 2008 Ruiz broke Juan Carlos Plata's all-time individual goalscoring record for Guatemala by scoring four goals against Saint Lucia in Guatemala's 2010 World Cup qualification opening match. Ruiz reached 39 overall goals, four more than Plata's total. Ruiz also became the first Guatemalan player to score four goals in a World Cup qualification match. On September 10, 2008, Ruiz scored two goals against Cuba in Guatemala's 2010 World Cup qualification in the 3rd match of the 3rd round of qualification of the CONCACAF region. Those two goals extended his all-time individual scoring record for Guatemala to 41 overall goals, six more than Plata's total.
On February 9, 2009, he announced his retirement from international football. However, on January 4, 2011, Carlos Ruiz stated full re-activity in international football, making the UNCAF 2011 championship to be held in Panama his first international tournament in two years. He then participated in the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, scoring one goal against Grenada in the first round and another one against Mexico in the quarterfinals in a 2-1 defeat.
On October 16, 2012, Ruiz announced his retirement from international competition after a 3-1 loss to the United States in Livestrong Park during the 2014 World Cup qualifications, eliminated with Ruiz as the sole scorer.
Read more about this topic: Carlos Ruiz (Guatemalan Footballer)
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