Los Angeles Galaxy forward Jose Villarreal and defender Oscar Sorto were part of the 20-man roster announced by U.S. Soccer for Wednesday’s exhibition match between the U.S. and Mexican under-23 teams at StubHub Center.
Two other players with ties to Los Angeles and Orange counties were also selected for the team — Real Salt Lake midfielder Luis Gil, a Garden Grove resident who played for the Costa Mesa-based Pateadores club team, and forward Mario Rodriguez, a North Hollywood resident who plays for the reserve team of Borussia Monchengladbach of Germany’s Bundesliga after playing for the Galaxy Youth Academy’s under-18 team.
The 21-year-old Villarreal, an Inglewood native, has played with the Galaxy since 2012 and has one goal and two assists in five games this season. He has played with the U.S. under-23, under-20 and under-18 national teams. Sorto, 20, a Manual Arts High alumnus, started 23 games last season for LA Galaxy II, the Galaxy’s USL Pro team. He was called into the U.S. men’s national team training camp in January.
Wednesday’s game is part of the preparations for both the U.S. and Mexican teams preparations for the Oct. 1-13 CONCACAF Men’s Olympic Qualifying championship, where the champion and runner-up are guaranteed berths in the 2016 Summer Olympics, while the third-place team will face Colombia in a playoff for another berth.
—City News Service