The Union’s Jakob Glesnes added to the MLS All-Star team

Union centerback Jakob Glesnes was added to this year’s MLS All-Star Game squad on Friday, as the roster was expanded by two players.

Glesnes, last season’s MLS Defender of the Year, joined New England Revolution playmaker Carles Gil in growing the group of honorees from 26 to 28. José Andrés Martínez was the only Union player named on the original team.

It’s the second straight All-Star selection for Glesnes, a Norway native. He played the second half of last year’s showcase, and is likely to come off the bench again this time. The other centerbacks in the group are Tim Parker (St. Louis City SC) and U.S. men’s national team regulars Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC) and Matt Miazga (FC Cincinnati).

This season, Glesnes is the Union’s leader in tackles (23), interceptions (33), long-range passes completed (121), and minutes played (1,800). He has started 93 straight regular-season games, the longest active streak in MLS and the second-longest in league history. His only nights off have come in the Concacaf Champions League, the U.S. Open Cup, and the 2021 playoffs when he missed the Eastern Conference final because of COVID-19 protocols.

The All-Star squad will face English Premier League power Arsenal at D.C. United’s Audi Field on July 19 at 8:30 p.m. Newly-minted U.S. men’s national team striker Folarin Balogun is expected to take part with the Gunners, even though he might join a new club before the new European season starts next month.

Both the All-Star Game and the skills challenge exhibition the night before at 7:30 will be telecast on Apple TV. The events are sold out, with ticket prices on the secondary market for the All-Star Game well into the hundreds of dollars.

» READ MORE: José Andrés Martínez's family helped announce his All-Star selection