Olivier Mbaizo stays focused on the Union while on the cusp of World Cup history

It seems easy enough for Union fans to compartmentalize the fact that the World Cup kicks off in barely two months.

There’s so much to do between now and then, with the team roaring toward the playoffs amid a record-smashing season. Sure, the U.S. jersey was launched (to much mockery) this week, and the U.S. men will play their last two warmup games later this month. But the World Cup roster won’t be named until Nov. 9, four days after the MLS Cup final.

So put it all away and deal with it later, right?

Well, what if you’re actually going to Qatar? Or if you’re on track to be the first active Union player to play on the biggest stage in sports?

It’s a special moment for Oliver Mbaizo right now. After losing the Union’s starting right back job early this season, he earned it back this summer and has gone on to hold it down. In doing so, he has regained the trust of Cameroon’s national team, one of Africa’s giants.

After Saturday’s Union game at Atlanta United, Mbaizo will fly to South Korea, where the Indomitable Lions will spend the last FIFA window before the World Cup. There are games scheduled against Uzbekistan and South Korea.

Then he’ll come back to Philadelphia and rejoin the Union’s charge toward the Supporters’ Shield and the playoffs.

» READ MORE: Olivier Mbaizo dreams of the World Cup after being part of Cameroon’s qualification

How is Mbaizo balancing club and country?

“I am concentrated on my club and on Philadelphia, on the club’s ambitions,” he said this week. “After the season, I’ll think about the World Cup. I’m focused on Philadelphia until then.”

On the whole, Mbaizo said, he’s “feeling good, because I’m feeling good physically — I’ve worked very hard for it.”

He had to, because a few months ago it seemed like the dream was slipping away.

The 25-year-old was benched after playing poorly in the season opener. From then until the end of June, he was kept out of 11 games, with three appearances as a substitute and one start.

But at the start of July, Nathan Harriel started to plateau, and Union manager Jim Curtin had seen what he wanted from Mbaizo to give the veteran the starting job back. He has played in every game but two since then.

“When it didn’t go well in that first game, that’s when players take a little bit of negativity,” Curtin said. “Sometimes players demand trades, sometimes players sulk, sometimes players become a problem in the locker room. But Olivier took the right approach: He worked harder on the training ground … and he’s done a really solid job for us.”

» READ MORE: Jim Curtin was blunt about benching Olivier Mbaizo early in the season

Mbaizo was honest about the root cause of his early-season struggles: A late arrival to preseason camp, he was in subpar shape because he’d been on Cameroon’s bench at the Africa Cup of Nations in January and February. His only start was the tournament’s third-place game, after being a late substitute twice and not playing at all three times.

When he got to the Union’s preseason camp, he was out of form and fitness.

“It affected me in those early games — I wasn’t at the level of teammates,” he said. “They were in good shape, and I wasn’t. I kept working hard to regain my form physically, and I’ve kept feeling better with each start.”

Mbaizo hasn’t played for Cameroon since the Cup of Nations. He was called up for two World Cup qualifying playoff games in March but did not play. The same was true of a June qualifier for the next Cup of Nations.

It was a stark change from the second half of last year, when he started four of the Indomitable Lions’ six group-stage World Cup qualifiers, sending them to the final-round playoffs this past March.

But Mbaizo has stayed close with manager Rigobert Song, and he knew what he had to do.

“The national team isn’t just for one or two players, it’s for all Cameroonians,” Mbaizo said. “If you’re playing well for your club, have good stats, if you’re in good shape physically, you’ll get called into the national team. But if you aren’t doing your job well, you won’t be called.”

» READ MORE: Was Andre Blake dropped from Jamaica’s national team for criticizing its governing body?

Now he is almost to the promised land, even if he’s trying his best to not think about it. And the Union are close to another historic milestone.

For all the Union players who played in a World Cup before arriving here, and the alumni who’ve done so (or will soon) after leaving, the club has never had a player go to a World Cup while an active member of the team.

Since the Union debuted in Major League Soccer in 2010, 16 of the league’s 28 teams have sent players to World Cups — including six of the 13 teams that launched after the Union. Many of the other seven will join the party this fall.

And finally, the Union might, too. A player who joined the club’s reserve team four years ago as an unknown prospect soon could be known by the whole world.

“To have a guy who wears this badge on the weekends with this club, playing in the biggest competition, is really special and makes you proud,” Curtin said. “If everything plays out right and he continues playing like he is, I have no doubt that he’ll be part of that.”

Saturday’s game against Atlanta will be the last Union game for a while in which the main broadcast is on Spanish-language national TV. If you don’t want to listen in Spanish, UniMás and TUDN, both owned by Univision, also provide English-language commentary. It’s available via the SAP function on your remote control, or free online at twitter.com/MLS.

The telecast starts at 3:30 p.m., with kickoff set for 3:50.

A new 10-year deal between MLS and Apple starts next year that will put every game on Apple’s subscription streaming platform, including games that will also be on national TV.

» READ MORE: The wizard of Subaru Park, José Martínez, is a main ingredient of the Union’s success