Mikkel Diskerud - International Career

International Career

Diskerud's mother is from Arizona, making him eligible to represent either the United States or Norway. In April 2008 he played a tournament for the United States under-20's team, recording three assists during a game against Northern Ireland. A month later, he played for the Norwegian under-18's team against the United States. In February 2009, when asked about his future plans for international play, he replied that it does not really matter which country he represents. He used the phrase "first-come, first-served", meaning that he will respond to the first international call-up from either country. In March 2009 he played for the Norwegian under-19's team. He later stated that he would likely accept any future call ups from US Soccer but had not heard from them since the youth tournament in 2008. Only weeks later, after several strong performances for his Norwegian club, Stabæk, he was contacted by US Soccer about attending an under-20's camp in May. He had to turn down the invitation due to his role in Stabæk and that the camp schedule conflicts with the Norwegian season. However, Diskerud traveled with the U.S. under-20 team to Egypt in June 2009 for one of two friendlies, and he scored his first goal against Egypt. His appearance in the Egyptian friendly signaled his final choice for international play for the United States, saying "I am a Norwegian-American. I would love to play for both countries, but I can't."

On November 17, 2010, Diskerud received his first cap with the United States senior team against South Africa in the Nelson Mandela Challenge Cup, where he came on as a substitute and assisted on the game-winning goal scored by Juan Agudelo. On February 29, 2012, he recorded an assist and a goal in a 2–0 win over Mexico for the United States under-23 team. On November 14, 2012 in a friendly against Russia, he came on as a substitute and scored the tying goal in the ninety-third minute. He became cap-tied for the United States in the opener of the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup versus Belize.