Midfielder Andres Flores and two other El Salvadoran international teammates will be among the missing for the Cosmos’ season opener next week. (Andy Mead/YCJ Photo) 

The Cosmos will be down three key players for their North American Soccer League opener at Puerto Rico FC Saturday.

That’s because midfielders Andrés Flores and Richard Menjivar and forward Irvin Herrera have been called into the El Salvador national team for two international friendlies in preparation for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

They will travel to Curaçao for an exhibition match against its national team Wednesday. La Selecta will then face Honduran club Olimpia in Houston Sunday March 26.

All three players helped El Salvador qualify for the Gold Cup via third-place finish in Copa Centroamericana. Flores wore the captain’s armband and assisted Herrera’s goal in the deciding match, a 1-0 win over Nicaragua.

Herrera has represented El Salvador on 13 occasions, scoring two goals since his international debut in March 2015. Menjivar, who has 36 caps and a goal, also has featured in the national team’s 2013 and 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cups.

The Cosmos will host Miami FC at MCU Park in Coney Island, Brooklyn Saturday, April 1.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.