Ronald Matarrita and Rodney Wallace are heading to Russia. (Photo courtesy of NYCFC)

Some good news for Ronald Matarrita and Rodney Wallace isn’t necessarily good news for New York City FC.

The Ticos duo Monday was named to the Costa Rican national team for the World Cup. That means they will miss several NYCFC games later this month and in June.

Both players will make their World Cup debuts while missing MLS and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup matches.

Wallace, a 29-year-old forward, made his international debut with the Ticos Sept. 2, 2011 as he scored the lone goal of a 1-0 international friendly win over the United States in Carson, Calif. Wallace played in five qualifiers.

Matarrita, a 23-year-old defender who has endured several injuries the past few MLS seasons, played his first international in a 3-1 victory over Panama in a World Cup qualifying match.

They are expected to leave for Costa Rican training camp very soon.

NYCFC hosts the Colorado Rapids at Yankee Stadium Saturday at 1 p.m.

Costa Rican schedule
N. IRELAND           6/3         Estadio Nacional      2:00PM ET
ENGLAND              6/7         Elland Road              3:00PM ET
BELGIUM               6/11       King Baudouin         2:45PM ET
SERBIA                    6/17      Cosmos Arena          8:00AM ET
BRAZIL                    6/22       Zenit Arena              8:00AM ET
SWITZERLAND       6/27       Nizhny Novgorod    2:00PM ET

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.