Ahead of the FIFA international window in October, the social media team behind the FIFA World Cup Instagram account pulled an XI of players set to begin the march towards the 2026 tournament.

Several familiar faces dotted the photoshopped lineup: Leo Messi (Argentina), Alexis Sanchez (Chile), Allison (Brazil) and Luis Diaz (Colombia) were among the players represented. Also included? Alec Taitague, a former Division III midfielder out of Roanoke College, who plays for Guam.

For a story focused around social media, it’s only fitting that Taitague’s journey from a Southwest Virginia school to a quartet of international caps also starts there. Taitague’s older brother, Nick, was a longtime fixture of the U.S. youth national setup, playing professionally at Schalke in Germany. A back injury forced him into early retirement at the age of 23. But his profile played a role in launching Alec’s pathway to the Guam national team in 2021.

“[The coaches] were following my brother on social media,” Taitague told TopDrawerSoccer. “And they were actually trying to recruit him to the national team, even when he was within the U.S. system. He ended up reposting one of my goals I scored in college, onto his social media. And then from there, the head coach at the time sent me a message and it kind of took me by surprise, but he just asked if I was interested in learning more about it.”

At that point, it was far from a straightforward journey into international matches. Taitague had to sort out his eligibility, locating the correct paperwork and birth certificates (he qualifies through his grandfather). His first call-up for competitive matches followed in October 2021. It came in the middle of Roanoke’s season, forcing him to miss a chunk of that campaign.

But on a team composed of players competing across a variety of levels, being in the middle of the college season offered him a leg up. Against Cambodia in a two-game qualifying playoff for the Asian Football Confederations Cup, Taitague featured in both games, playing the full 90 minutes in each.

“That was just kind of crazy, hopping right into it, into some, big, big matches,” Taitague said. “I felt like I was in good form coming straight from college ball playing a lot of minutes there. And it was definitely a different style of play, pace of the game.”

Guam lost that playoff by a 3-1 score on aggregate, playing two games in Bahrain due to COVID restrictions at the time.

After that, Taitague returned to school, finishing the 2021 campaign at Roanoke. His college side traveled to Spain in the spring of 2022 for its overseas trip, and later that summer, he was called up for a 10-day camp in Korea with Guam. He made 12 appearances later that fall, finishing his NCAA eligibility.

A defensive midfielder in college – the same role he features for Guam – he made 70 appearances and was named to the Old Dominion Athletic All-Conference team on three occasions.

Graduating in December 2022, Taitague trained back at home with USL League One side Richmond Kickers for the bulk of 2023. That set the table to earn a call-up to Guam once again, with the home-and-away playoff against Singapore to begin World Cup qualifying in October. Taitague said he wasn’t alerted ahead of the Instagram post, saying he had to look twice to believe what he was seeing.

While Guam ended up losing by a 3-1 score against Singapore, he started in both games. Taitague was also able to play on the island – elevating his appreciation of the experience.

"The feeling of representing your national team, it's definitely special," Taitague said. "This past trip, it was my first time to Guam. That was just an unbelievable feeling, representing your national team on home turf. We got the home atmosphere, you can really feel the passion and love that people have for the island. And that's something that I think it took me a few trips to feel what it's all about, playing for this team. The passion, the love, the honor wearing the crest, the pride to represent our island, something bigger than myself, to be a part of a team united by a common similarity, that's really cool. That's something pretty unique.”

Taitague isn’t the only U.S. college alumnus to be on that October roster. Nate Lee played at High Point and Penn State; Dallas Jaye was a goalkeeper for South Florida and Xavier. Travis Nicklaw was a standout at San Diego State. Eddie Na played at Pacific Lutheran University. There are several stories similar to Taitague that have played for the U.S. territory.

With the October experience behind him, Taitague is now focused on his next step. He is searching for options far and wide, looking to leverage his national team in a bid to a pro opportunity.

“I'm trying to keep playing,” he said. “And I'm trying to find a team that fits me. But just ultimately, I'm trying to play at the next level…I've been trying to network with the older guys on the Guam national team that I've played, you know, in these Asian countries and kind of connect with them and see what kind of tips they have or what kind of connections they have that they can help me out with.”

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