McBean, USA U-17 win CONCACAF

On one hand, it does help that Mexico is hosting the FIFA Under-17 World Cup this year.

On the other hand, the Los Angeles Galaxy's Jack McBean will return to Los Angeles Galaxy training camp a winner.

That's because McBean—coming off the bench later for Wilmer Cabrera's USA Under-17 Men's National Team—defeated rivals Canada 3-0 in extra time at the Catherine Hall Stadium in Montego Bay, Jamaica to win the 2011 CONCACAF Under-17 Championship.

This is the first CONCACAF Under-17 title for the Stars and Stripes.

Nathan Smith opened the scoring for the USA in the 92nd minute. Andrew Oliver made it 2-0 for the Yanks in the 100th minute before Alfred Koroma put the game out of reach in the 120th minute of play.

Whether or not McBean's success will internationally translate to a huge payoff on the Galaxy Reserves is up to the fates to decide.


If Mr. Becks fits, all the better

Galaxy team captain Landon Donovan shrugged off the worries that midfielder David Beckham would have a rough go at meshing with the team at training.

“Like always, he fits right in,” Donovan said. “He looked great, he looked fit, he looked sharp. He and I always get back on the same page quickly. He and everyone else seem to get going quickly.

“All we care about is that when he’s here, he wants to be here and he wants to play. [Last Thursday] he showed that he wants to be here and he wants to help this team.”

Donovan believes that it is not up to Bruce Arena's Galaxy to decide whether or not Beckham should play on loan during the Major League Soccer offseason.

“Who am I to say he shouldn’t be somewhere playing?” Donovan said. “The last two years I’ve been in Europe playing, so I understand why he would want to do that and why he would want to play there.”

Juan Pablo Angel believes that Beckham's work training with Tottenham Hotspur provides a big advantage and a needed boost.

“It’s important for him also to give himself a chance of playing at that level, training with the players he was training with at Tottenham," said Angel—who played at Aston Villa from 2001 to '07. “I think it’s only going to do him good and hopefully we’re going to get the benefits from it. He’s going to be as important as ever for our team and for the league.”

Donovan did note that it could have been similarly advantageous to have Beckham with the club during training at Arizona State University in Tempe.

“Would we have liked to have had him since Jan. 24? Sure, but that’s the way it is," Donovan said. "Everyone has individual things going on, and we’re just happy to have him back.”

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