LAFC’s Carlos Vela, Galaxy’s Dos Santos brothers called up by Mexican national team
Carlos Vela of the Los Angeles Football Club and brothers Giovani and Jonathan dos Santos of the Galaxy were among 25 players called up to the Mexican national team for next month’s World Cup qualifiers against Trinidad and Tobago and Honduras. The three will join the national team in Mexico after club games this weekend.
Vela, the first designated player in LAFC history, is playing with Real Sociedad in Spain ahead of the MLS expansion team’s first training camp in January. A forward, he has appeared in five of this team’s six games in La Liga play this season and has 60 career caps with the national team, scoring 17 times, the last goal coming in June against the U.S.
Giovani dos Santos, a forward for the Galaxy but a midfielder with the national team, has played in four of Mexico’s eight games in the final hexagonal round of CONCACAF qualifying, making his 100th national team appearance earlier this month in a draw with Costa Rica. In 22 games with the Galaxy this season, he has six goals and two assists.
Jonathan, a midfielder, has played in five qualifiers for Mexico, which leads the six-team CONCACAF standings and has already secured a berth in next summer’s World Cup in Russia. He joined the Galaxy in July and has played in nine games.
Also called up were forwards Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez of West Ham United, Hirving Lozano of Dutch club PSV Eindhoven and Jesús Corona of Porto FC; midfielder Andres Guardado of Spain’s Real Betis; goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa of Belgium’s Standard Liege.
The roster:
Goalkeepers: Rodolfo Cota (Guadalajara), Guillermo Ochoa (Standard Liege), Jesús Corona (Cruz Azul).
Defenders: Edson Álvarez (Club America), Carlos Salcedo (Eintracht Frankfurt), Diego Reyes (Porto), Hugo Ayala (Tigres), Héctor Moreno (AS Roma), Oswaldo Alanís (Guadalajara), Nestor Araujo (Santos Laguna), Jesus Gallardo (Pumas), Miguel Layún (Porto FC).
Midfielders: Andrés Guardado (Real Betis), Héctor Herrera (Porto FC), Jonathan dos Santos (Galaxy), Giovani dos Santos (Galaxy), Erick Gutiérrez (Club Pachuca), Elías Hernández (Club León).
Forwards: Hirving Lozano (PSV Eindhoven), Javier Aquino (Tigres), Jesús Corona (Porto), Carlos Vela (Real Sociedad), Javier Hernández (West Ham United), Raúl Jiménez (Benfica), Oribe Peralta (Club América).
Follow Kevin Baxter on Twitter @kbaxter11
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