CARSON, Calif. – As Jack McBean evolves into a real contributor for the LA Galaxy, the chances he will represent the United States in Turkey this summer are narrowing.
The 18-year-old forward wasn't high enough on US Under-20 national team coach Tab Ramos' depth chart to warrant a call-up to this week's camp – taking place on the other side of the stadium from where the Galaxy train – and likely will leave him out of the mix when the FIFA U-20 World Cup kicks off June 21.
McBean has started four straight league games and appeared in nine of 10 first-team matches for the Galaxy, scoring two important goals, and he could be in the lineup again when LA play on Saturday night at Real Salt Lake (9 pm ET, MLS Stream of the Week).
“Jack is a player that we like a lot,” Ramos told reporters following Friday's U-20 training session. “He's a good player. I think he continues to be on our depth chart, but he's not one of the ones that we're looking at right now as we go with the top five or six forwards that we have. He's not one of those.”
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Ramos has looked at nearly two dozen forwards since the current two-year cycle began at the start of last year, and McBean has been part of three camps in that span. He failed to impress in his most recent stint with the team, in Florida in December, and wasn't part of the group that finished second at the CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Puebla, Mexico, earlier this year.
Galaxy forward Jose Villarreal, one of the American stars of that competition, and defender Oscar Sorto are with the U-20s and, Ramos said, in strong contention for roster spots this summer.
Other forwards in camp are Santos Laguna's Daniel Cuevas, Chicago’s Victor Pineda, Vancouver’s Omar Salgado, collegians Danny Garcia and Alfred Koroma, and high-schooler Jordan Morris, a Seattle Sounders Academy standout in his first national team camp.
“I'm not really worrying about it,” McBean said earlier this week. “Just focusing on the Galaxy and my role with the team right now. I know if I do well with this team, it's up to Tab. He's called me in before. There's a bunch of good players [in the pool], so I don't feel like I [have reason to complain].”
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Ramos said the target striker isn't out of the picture, but injuries are the likeliest path into the team.
“With the experience that we've had so far with so many injuries,” Ramos said, “in the end, he could end up on the team as well. But we don't know.”
