LOS ANGELES (Friday, June 10, 2022) – The LA Galaxy today announced that defenders Marcus Ferkranus (U-20 USMNT) and Jalen Neal (U-20 USMNT) and midfielder Jonathan Pérez (U-20 Mexico) were called up by their respective national teams and will compete in the 2022 Concacaf Under-20 Championship, set for June 18 – July 3 in Honduras. Four teams will qualify for the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Indonesia, while two teams will qualify for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Neal, 18, has made 12 appearances (11 starts) for LA Galaxy II during the 2022 USL Championship campaign, while Ferkranus, 19, has made four appearances (2 starts) for Los Dos in the USL Championship this year. The U.S. Under-20 Men’s Youth National Team was drawn into Group E and opens the competition against St. Kitts & Nevis on Saturday, June 18 (2:00 p.m. PT), faces regional rival Canada on Monday, June 20 (5:30 p.m. PT) and finishes the group stage against Cuba on Wednesday, June 22 (5:30 p.m. PT).
Perez, 19, has tallied one goal and two assists in one appearance (1 start) for LA Galaxy II during the 2022 USL Championship Regular Season, while making four appearances (2 starts) across all competitions for the LA Galaxy this season. The U-20 Mexico National Team was drawn into Group F and opens the tournament against Suriname on Sunday, June 19 (7:30 p.m. PT), squaring off against Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday, June 21 (7:30 p.m. PT) and closing out the group stage against Haiti on Thursday, June, 23 (7:30 p.m. PT).
The Concacaf U-20 Championship features 20 teams – 16 divided into four groups of four, and four who have already advanced to the Round of 16 via pre-tournament qualifying. The top three finishers in the four groups will advance to the Round of 16 and join four teams already qualified for the knockout round. From there, the teams will play a single-elimination tournament with the four semifinalists qualifying for the FIFA U-20 World Cup and the two finalists qualifying for the 2024 Olympics.
