CARSON, Calif. –On Tuesday, LA Galaxy defenders A.J. DeLaGarza and Omar Gonzalez will look to further their International careers when the United States takes on Canada at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston.
The two Galaxy defenders and the rest of the U.S. squad departed for Houston over the weekend and finished up their final preparation for the friendly with a public training session on Monday evening. In his third camp with the national team, DeLaGarza has been impressed with the preparations ahead of the friendly against Canada.
“Every session has been short, but very intense. The quality is high [throughout the roster]. We’re getting good quality training every day and we’re getting minutes by scrimmaging so we’re moving along pretty well,” said DeLaGarza. “It’s been good. I kind of knew what to expect coming into this camp and all the guys are top quality players.”
Whether DeLaGarza will have a place in head coach Jurgen Klinsmann’s starting lineup–or even the game day roster – on Tuesday remains to be seen, but Klinsmann has been impressed with what he has seen from the resourceful defender.
“He’s versatile; he reads the game very well. Sometimes, you don’t need to be the big strong guy and get into the battle because he gets in front of his opponent and wins it already,” said Klinsmann. “We told him, we see how things develop and we see a lot of qualities in him. He’s a different type of center back than Omar Gonzalez or Matt Besler and you need this to put your puzzle together.”
The U.S. National Team head coach summarizes the January camp in a video produced by U.S. Soccer below.
