Galaxy roster depth will be tested during busy July

Over the next month, the Galaxy will find out just how deep its roster truly is.

With CONCACAF Gold Cup group play officially starting July 10, the Galaxy will have five players away on international duty.

Efrain Alvarez and Jonathan dos Santos are with Mexico, Oniel Fisher with Jamaica, Giancarlo Gonzalez – who has yet to appear in game this season – is with Costa Rica, and Sebastian Lletget will be with the U.S. national team.

“This is where the depth of your roster gets challenged and you see where everybody is at and who is going to help down the stretch,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “This is the point of the season where everybody gets their opportunity. It’s where guys who you used in preseason and the beginning of the year, who maybe haven’t played a ton in the last few games, have to step up and show their value.”

To soften the blow a bit, Lletget will be available for the Galaxy’s game Sunday night against Sporting Kansas City and Wednesday’s home game against FC Dallas.

The Gold Cup begins July 10 and ends Aug. 1 with the final in Las Vegas.

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After Wednesday’s game, the Galaxy (7-3, 21 points) will get a 10-day break, returning July 17. The club will then face a two-week stretch playing four games, including three in seven days.

“We’re a little bit light in some areas in terms of our depth and we’re getting into the dog days of the summer when the games start coming fast and they’re difficult and we have three on the road coming up pretty soon,” Vanney said. “For me there’s challenges, but at the same time, that’s part of being at the LA Galaxy is you’re going to have international players and players who are away on international duty and that’s why our young guys – our guys who have come through the academy, have gotten some minutes here at the beginning of the year – are going to have some opportunities to step in and help to carry this team over the next month.”

The Galaxy will get some reinforcements. Rayan Raveloson, who in May signed a three-year contract after playing France, has finally arrived after an extended wait for his visa. Derrick Williams will be eligible to return after Wednesday upon completing his fivegame suspension.

Building momentum

The Galaxy went 2-1 in last week’s three-game, eight-day stretch, with road wins against Vancouver and Seattle.

Now the Galaxy faces another challenge as Sporting Kansas City visits. SKC begins the week two points behind first-place Seattle and two points ahead of the Galaxy.

“We look at this a little like we did the Seattle game,” Lletget said of the June 19 2-1 loss. “Home game, a team that’s a little bit ahead of us as far as points. If we do win, then it will be a really big push for this team.

“We know what we can do, I think we have to learn from that Seattle game because it is kind of the same situation. So, just approach it, exploit their weaknesses and I think we’re definitely confident in our game plan.”

Chicharito’s prowess

After scoring two goals in the 3-1 win Saturday at San Jose, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez leads MLS with 10 goals through 10 games, putting him just off the pace for fastest to reach that figure in league history.

In 2019, LAFC’s Carlos Vela scored 10 in the first nine games.