CARSON, Calif.– LA Galaxy forward Jack McBean, who was signed by the club as a Home Grown Player late last month, has been named to the United States Under-17 National Team squad for the upcoming CONCACAF U-17 Championships in Jamaica. McBean is one of 20 players named to the squad by head coach Wilmer Cabrera. The team will depart for Jamaica on Saturday, February 12 before opening tournament play on Monday, February 14 against Cuba.
The United States is in Group B at the tournament, along with Cuba and Panama. After facing Cuba in the group opener, the U.S. will then take on Panama in their second and final group game on Friday, February 18. The top two teams from the group will then advance to the tournament quarterfinals. If the U.S. can advance to that round of the tournament, they will face a team from Group A, which consists of Costa Rica, El Salvador and Haiti.
The four teams that advance past the quarterfinals will automatically advance to the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which will be held this summer in Mexico.
A native of Newport Beach, Calif., McBean made his international debut last month, taking part in a friendly in Jamaica on January 28. He was one of 40 players invited into U.S. Soccer’s Under-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Fla. before signing with the Galaxy.
McBean officially joined the Galaxy Academy program last summer at the age of 15, debuting at the SUM U-17 Cup in Houston, and immediately helped make the Galaxy U-16 squad one of the best in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. He scored nine goals in his 10 games with the club, including a hat trick against South Carolina United FC at the annual Winter Showcase in Arizona. While at the Showcase, McBean also played in one of the Academy Select games, which brings a number of the nation’s top young players together on the same field. In that game, McBean scored just five minutes after entering the match, leading his team to a 2-1 win.
Fans wishing to follow McBean and his U.S. Under-17 National Team teammates throughout the CONCACAF U-17 Championships can follow all of their games via MatchTracker at ussoccer.com.
The Galaxy will open the 2011 MLS season on Tuesday, March 15 when they head to Seattle to take on the Seattle Sounders FC at Qwest Field in MLS First Kick 2011, presented by Dick’s Sporting Goods. That game, which will kick off at 6:30 p.m., will be shown live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, as well as online at ESPN3.com. The Galaxy will then host the New England Revolution in their home opener at 5 p.m. on Sunday, March 20 at The Home Depot Center. For more information about this game or to purchase tickets, please visit www.lagalaxy.com/tickets.
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