Giovani dos Santos excited to return to Mexican national team

Galaxy forward Giovani dos Santos has been called into the Mexican national team for a pair of upcoming friendlies, it was announced Thursday.

Dos Santos, 27, will join Mexico for the Oct. 8 game against New Zealand in Nashville and

Oct. 11 against Panama, in Bridgeview, Illinois. Dos Santos will rejoin the Galaxy in time gio10for the Oct. 16 game at Houston.

This will be the first time that dos Santos has played for Mexico since the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

“I feel very happy to be back with the national team,” dos Santos said Thursday. “I’ve been working really hard to be back there and I’m real excited to get back to the national team.

“I feel very confident. I’ve been working really hard this year and right now I feel in great shape. I go there with a lot of confidence.”

Here is the complete roster:

Goalkeepers: Moises Munoz (America), Jesus Corona (Cruz Azul), Rodolfo Cota (Chivas)

Defenders: Adrian Aldrete (Cruz Azul), Oswaldo Alanis (Chivas), Hugo Ayala (Tigres), Hedgardo Marin (Chivas), Jordan Silva (Toluca), Jorge Torres Nilo (Tigres)

Midfielders: Jesus Duenas (Tigres), Luis Robles (Atlas), Jesus Molina (Santos), Jonathan dos Santos (Villarreal), Orbelin Pineda (Chivas), Erick Gutierrez (Pachuca), Hirving Lozano (Pachuca), Isaac Brizuela (Chivas), Elis Hernandez (Leon)

Forwards: Giovani dos Santos (LA Galaxy), Marco Fabian (Frankfurt), Oribe Peralta (America), Alan Pulido (Chivas), Angel Sepulveda (Queretaro)

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100 Percent Soccer column: Second consecutive late-season MLS slump has LA Galaxy on back heels (again)

Seattle Sounders FC forward Jordan Morris (13) takes a shot on goal against the LA Galaxy, during the first half at the StubHub Center. Seattle Sounder won 4-1.     Carson Calif., Sunday, September ,25, 2016.        (Photo by Stephen Carr / Daily Breeze/ SCNG)

Seattle Sounders FC forward Jordan Morris (13) takes a shot on goal against the LA Galaxy, during the first half at the StubHub Center. Seattle Sounder won 4-1. Carson Calif., Sunday, September ,25, 2016. (Photo by Stephen Carr / Daily Breeze/ SCNG)

Read this week’s 100 Percent Soccer column here and check out the goals below.

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USL: Orange County Blues’ Trevin Caesar earns POTW honors

Trevin Caesar (Orange County Blues FC) was selected USL Player of the Week after he scored a pair of late goals (87th and 89th minutes) Saturday in a 4-0 victory over Colorado trevinSprings Switchbacks FC,

The victory helped the Blues clinch a spot in the upcoming USL playoffs on the final day of the regular season.

The Blues will face top-seeded Sacramento Republic FC in the Western Conference quarterfinals, Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

 

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Galaxy preview: Galaxy closing in on playoff berth

Old acquaintances meet today with the Seattle Sounders in town to meet the Galaxy. This is the fourth meeting this year (including the galaxyOpen Cup). The Galaxy is 2-0-1.

Seattle is seventh place in the Western Conference on 35 points. The Galaxy is tied with Colorado on 48. The Galaxy had a good night on Saturday without even playing as FC Dallas, Real Salt Lake and Colorado all failed to pick up three points, settling for draws.

Can the Galaxy take advantage and move closer to the top spot?

The Galaxy tied with Colorado on 48 points, five behind FC Dallas. A victory today will give Galaxy sole possession of second place and clinch a playoff berth.

Game day links

Daniel Steres has helped solidify Galaxy defense

Galaxy focused on strong finish to regular season

 

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USL: Galaxy II and Orange County Blues FC qualify for playoffs

LA Galaxy II finished fifth in the USL Western Conference and will face the Swope Park Rangers at Children’s Mercy Victory Field, uslFriday, Sept. 30 at 5:30 p.m. in the opening round of the Western Conference playoffs.

Galaxy II finished fifth in the conference.

Orange County Blues FC qualified on the final day of the regular season and will face top-seeded Sacramento Republic FC, Saturday at 7:30 p.m. OC Blues finished eighth.

Here are the Western Conference pairings

No. 8 Orange County Blues FC at No. 1 Sacramento Republic FC

No. 7 OKCEnergy FC at No. 2 Rio Grande Valley FC

No. 6 Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1 at No. 3 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC

No. 5 Galaxy II at No. 4 Swope Park Rangers

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Daniel Steres has helped solidified the Galaxy defense this season

Things have moved rapidly for Daniel Steres since December.

Steres, who was the Defender of the Year for the Galaxy II last season, was signed to galaxysenior club in December. He earned three consecutive All-League selections for Galaxy II.

One week later, Omar Gonzalez was transferred to Pachuca in Mexico, essentially opening up a spot in central defense for someone, anyone.

Steres, who was born in Burbank and raised in Calabasas, has been a gem for the Galaxy this season, becoming a fixture on the backline. As the team enters the final month of the season, Steres leads the way in minutes played (2,490).

“He’s doing well,” Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said. “It has probably been a typical year for a young defender, he’s had his ups and downs a little bit, but for the most part he’s been fairly steady, but we still see little dips in his performance and other times where it is quite good.

“Obviously, we want him to stabilize that a little bit and be a bit more consistent.

Steres made his Galaxy debut in the opening game, going 90 minutes and scoring a goal.

He’s started 27 of 29 games so far this season.

“I’ve definitely grown throughout the season, playing at this level,” Steres said. “There are still things, mistakes, plays that I have to work on to get better and better.

“It is just a sense of knowing that I’ve gotten into the squad now, before at the beginning of the year it might have been how am I’m going to get into the squad. Now, that I’m in it, it’s trying to stay in it and help the team as much as possible.”

Steres, 25, knows he is far from being a finished product and he said he agrees with Arena’s assessment.

“Hopefully, peak as much as I can toward the end of the playoffs. I feel like I’ve got the trust of a lot of the veteran guys. I pride myself on staying healthy and staying on the field and being someone that’s consistent, week in and week out and someone the team can count on.

 

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Giovani dos Santos, Cozmo and Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. meet in ESPN video

Giovani dos Santos and Galaxy mascot Cozmo ran into legendary champion Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. in the latest ESPN This is SportsCenter video.

 

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Galaxy can clinch playoff berth Sunday against Seattle

The Galaxy (11-4-15, 48 points) can clinch a berth in the upcoming MLS Playoffs with a victory against the Seattle Sounders, Sunday at StubHub Center (1 p.m.; ESPN).

The Galaxy is current in second place in the Western Conference. The Sounders are in seventh place, five points outside the sixth and final spot, currently held by Sporting Kansas City (40 points).

This will be the third meeting this season between the teams. The Galaxy is 1-0-1.

Toronto FC is the lone team that has clinched a playoff berth so far.

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