WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Former William & Mary All-American Antonio Bustamante was recently called up to the Bolivian National Team in preparation for the World Cup Qualifiers, beginning in October. La Verde faces South American powers Brazil and Argentina to start CONMEBOL qualifying.
Bustamante, who signed in Bolivia's top league with Club Blooming in March, competed for the Bolivian Under 23 National Team in the 2020 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament in January. He appeared in all four fixtures, including three starts, in helping Bolivia to a 2-2 mark in Group B, including wins over Uruguay and Peru.
Due to COVID-19, the first two international windows for World Cup Qualifying in March and September were postponed to October and November. The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) plays a round-robin format among its 10 teams (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela). Matchdays will be held through March of 2022.
Bustamante was among 34 players called to camp by Cesar Farias in preparation for the first two qualifying matches. The top four finishes in CONMEBOL's round robin earn spots in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The fifth-place finisher advances to inter-confederation play-offs to play for a spot in the World Cup.
After a standout career at W&M, Bustamante signed a Major League Soccer (MLS) Homegrown Player with D.C. United, the 10th such player in the organization's history. He spent most of his first professional season with Loudoun United FC, starting 25 matches. Bustamente tallied five goals and tied for the team lead with four assists. He created a team-best 42 chances, the team's most active passer (57 per game) and its most accurate (89.2%). Bustamante did get some first team time, playing for D.C. United in the Open Cup and friendlies.
Bustamante racked up a long list of notable awards during his Tribe career. Bustamante became the first player in state history to be twice named the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) State Player of the Year, taking home the honor in 2017 and 2018. He was the fifth player in Tribe history to be named to the All-Colonial Athletic Association First Team on three occasions. Bustamante was a three-time United Soccer Coaches All-Region selection, including first team accolades in 2016 and 2017.
As a junior in 2017, he was named the CAA Player of the Year and was a consensus All-American. He led W&M to a CAA title and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after scoring a school-record four goals in the quarterfinals at Hofstra and added a championship game hat trick against UNCW. Bustamante finished his career among the program's all-time leaders in points (10th at 85), goals (10th at 34), shots (eight at 201) and game-winning goals (12th at 8).
