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Jalen Neal

Jalen Christopher Neal (born August 24, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a center-back for Major League Soccer club LA Galaxy.[3]

Jalen Neal
Personal information
Full name Jalen Christopher Neal[1]
Date of birth (2003-08-24) August 24, 2003 (age 21)
Place of birth Lakewood, California, United States
Height 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[2]
Position(s) Center-back
Team information
Current team
 LA Galaxy
Number 24
Youth career
2015–2020 LA Galaxy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2022 LA Galaxy II 47 (1)
2021– LA Galaxy 33 (1)
International career‡
2019 United States U16 1 (0)
2021–2022 United States U20 10 (1)
2023– United States 6 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 6, 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of July 9, 2023

Club career

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Neal joined the LA Galaxy Academy in 2016,[4] appearing in the former U.S. Soccer Development Academy system before graduating to the club's USL Championship affiliate LA Galaxy II in 2020. After making his professional debut on July 11 in a 4–0 defeat to Phoenix Rising,[5] he would make 13 total league appearances for the club, scoring his first goal in the final match of the season against Reno 1868.[6] Owing to his community outreach efforts, he was named the team's Humanitarian of the Year.[7]

On January 20, 2021, Neal signed with LA Galaxy.[8] He made his competitive debut for the club in May 2022, making a late substitute appearance in the club's U.S. Open Cup victory over California United Strikers.[9]

International career

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In November 2021, Neal was named to the United States national under-20 team for the 2021 Revelations Cup.[10] Despite being eligible for the team ahead of the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Neal was not released by LA Galaxy and therefore did not participate in the tournament.[11]

Neal received his maiden call up to the senior national team for the 2023 January camp.[12][13] He made his debut on January 25 in a 2–1 friendly defeat to Serbia.[14]

Neal was named to the provisional and final roster for the senior national team at the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup. Neal made his competitive debut against Jamaica off the bench, and then started the other two group stage matches versus Saint Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago respectively. Neal then became the youngest center back to appear for the USMNT in a knockout round match, at only 19 years, 319 days in the quarterfinal match up versus Canada.[15] Although Neal was subbed out for a minor injury, the United States went advanced through a penalty shootout victory.

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played October 6, 2024[16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
LA Galaxy II 2020 USL 12 0 — — 1 1 13 1
2021 USL 14 1 — — — 14 1
2022 USL 21 0 — — — 21 0
Total 47 1 — — 1 1 48 2
LA Galaxy 2022 MLS — 1 0 — — 1 0
2023 MLS 16 1 2 0 — 2[a] 0 20 1
2024 MLS 17 0 — — — 17 0
Total 33 1 3 0 0 0 2 0 38 1
Career total 80 2 3 0 0 0 3 1 86 3
  1. ^ Appearances in Leagues Cup

International

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As of match played July 9, 2023[17]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
United States 2023 6 0
Total 6 0

Honors

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United States U20

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "National team roster – 2023 CONCACAF Nations League Finals: USA" (PDF). CONCACAF. May 19, 2023. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 19, 2023. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  2. ^ "Jalen Neal". LA Galaxy. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  3. ^ "USA – J. Neal – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com.
  4. ^ Fiddler, J.J. (January 27, 2021). "FEATURE: Jalen Neal Not Your Average Soccer Pro At 17". The 562. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  5. ^ "Phoenix Rising vs. LA Galaxy II – 12 July 2020 – Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  6. ^ Rodriguez, Alicia (October 10, 2020). "All done: Reno 1868 FC 4, LA Galaxy II 1". LAG Confidential. Retrieved December 5, 2022. Mauricio Cuevas hit a free kick deep in the corner that was headed in by defender Jalen Neal to make it 1-1.
  7. ^ Jalon, Rob (June 7, 2021). "Speak softly or The things that stick". Los Angeles Sports Nation. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  8. ^ "LA Galaxy sign US youth international defender Jalen Neal | MLSSoccer.com". mlssoccer.
  9. ^ Rodriguez, Alicia (October 30, 2022). "LA Galaxy 2022 Player Postmortem: Jalen Neal". LAG Confidential. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
  10. ^ "U-20 USMNT Kicks Off New Cycle at Revelations Cup Vs. Brazil, Colombia and Mexico". www.ussoccer.com.
  11. ^ Calhoun, Damian (May 13, 2023). "Galaxy's Jalen Neal, denied a U-20 World Cup spot, sees the positive". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  12. ^ Rodriguez, Alicia (January 18, 2023). "LA Galaxy's Jalen Neal called up to U.S. Men's National Team camp". LAG Confidential. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  13. ^ Baxter, Kevin (January 24, 2023). "The secret is out: Galaxy's Jalen Neal ready to contribute to U.S. national team". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  14. ^ Calhoun, Damian (January 25, 2023). "USMNT falls to Serbia as 8 players make senior team debuts". Pasadena Star-News. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  15. ^ "USMNT vs. Canada - Match Report, Highlights & Stats | 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup Quarterfinal". www.ussoccer.com. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  16. ^ "Jalen Neal". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  17. ^ Jalen Neal at National-Football-Teams.com
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