Laurent Merlin, a 22-year-old Frenchman who showed his wizardry, and Rui Fortes, 24, of Portugal, were the two prospects who were given the opportunity from among 800 men from around the world who began a open tryout camp Saturday.

The field was trimmed to 133 players who were invited back Sunday and those players were placed onto eight teams for 60-minute morning matches before a cut to 30 men for one final Sunday afternoon match.

Merlin and Fortes made the final cut for a one-week trial. Now each has a chance to make the roster for the team's April season opener and could become a teammate of Beckham when the England star joins the Galaxy in July.

"Merlin and Fortes are raw but they showed some potential and therefore their adventure will continue," Galaxy president and general manager Alexi Lalas said. "It remains to be seen if both can adapt to the MLS level."

Beckham, who signed a 250 million-dollar deal with the Galaxy last month, will join the US squad after the completion of his contract with Real Madrid.

Merlin, a forward-midfielder from Marseille, spent time in the youth system of Olympique Marseille. His most recent club was French second-division squad Chateauroux.

Fortes, a midfielder, spent four years with the Rhode Island Stingrays developmental team.

"They have a chance of being molded into professional players," Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said. "Now it's obviously up to them and us to see if they can take the next step."