Jalen Neal

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	34	(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

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]

Club career

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

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

Club

As of match played December 7, 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	18	0	—		—		3	0	21	0
	Total		34	1	3	0	0	0	5	0	42	1
Career total			81	2	3	0	0	0	6	1	90	3

1. Appearances in Leagues Cup

International

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

LA Galaxy

• MLS Cup: 2024 ^[18]

United States U20

• CONCACAF U-20 Championship: 2022

Individual

• CONCACAF U-20 Championship Best XI: 2022

References

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
18. Sigal, Jonathan (December 7, 2024). "Champions! LA Galaxy lift MLS Cup 2024 over New York Red Bulls". Major League Soccer. Retrieved December 8, 2024.

External links

• Jalen Neal Archived April 23, 2021, at the Wayback Machine at US Soccer Development Academy